YuGiOh! Avatar: The Pyramid of Light
by Phantom 1
Summary: When an ancient artifact and a powerful foe are unearthed, only the King of Games and his friends have the ability to stop him.
1. Author's Intro

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar: The Pyramid of Light**

Hi, everyone, I'm back! That's right, despite all attempts to put me down, I am back and so is what is now my flagship series, Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar. This time, I'm going to add the Avatar touch to Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie. Now before you dismiss this as just another retelling of the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie (and I know who you are), here are just a few touches of what I'm planning on doing with the movie to make it more interesting.

-Better dialogue (including dialogue "borrowed" from other movies/TV shows/books, etc…, try to find them, I dare you.)

-A slightly alternate opening and a completely alternate ending.

-Adding a Duel Monster Index (a slightly larger version of my Duel Monster Database in one chapter instead of at the end of each individual chapter). The index will be divided not just by numbers but by sections (go to it and you'll figure out what I mean).

-Character Profiles of the non-canon characters (for those who might be new to the series).

-Author's commentary.

-Plus an extra special surprise that you'll only find out by reading through the story to the end (if you want to skip it all to the end, I won't stop you but you won't be able to understand it without reading this entire story).

Personally, I thought Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie was great visually. The cards were very detailed and the colors were bright. The soundtrack was very good too. But I will admit (and I think others would agree with me) that it could've been done better. So let's see if I can do better, shall we?

Oh yeah, and one more thing.

I love receiving reviews on my stories. And unlike most authors I won't be upset if the reviews aren't praising. However, I do want all reviews to be constructive. If you liked it, tell me why you liked it so I'll know what to continue. If you thought I could've done something better, tell me. I won't be able to fix it if I don't know what needs fixing to begin with. The only things I will not accept are swearing and blatant insults (Meaning reviews along the lines of "You are a terrible author" and "You don't deserve to write" and "I hope you die."). Especially the insults, if you insult me or others, there will be retaliation. Nobody likes being insulted.


	2. Introduction

_Long ago when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian Kings played games of great and terrible power. They would place magic and monsters against each other for riches and power. Then a man with desires of power for only him and a grudge released a great evil onto the world._

_The Pharaoh of the time could not stand by and watch as his people suffered under this tremendous threat. He and his seven most trusted and powerful warriors banded together and waged a war against the great evil and the man that controlled it. The battle was long and hard but in the end, the Pharaoh and his allies succeeded._

_But victory came at a terrible price. The Pharaoh, the king who was loved by all his people and honored by friend and foe alike, had given not just his life, but his very soul to seal the great evil. His successor demanded that the object that sealed away the great evil be broken so that it could never be used to release the great evil onto the world._

_And as for the man who first released the great evil?_

_He was buried alive and the power object that he used to control the great evil separated so that it too could never be used throughout eternity._

_But as it would turn out, eternity did not last forever._

* * *

It wasn't supposed to happen but it did.

For thousands of years, the legendary Millennium Puzzle remained a mystery to all Egyptologists. Some went so far as to even say it did not exist. But it did, and to those who believed, it was the Egyptian Holy Grail.

The key to the Puzzle's mystery lay within the many pieces, its original shape having been lost throughout the centuries. But even knowing what the original shape was, one could not assemble the puzzle.

Unless the puzzle decided that the person was fit to assemble it.

* * *

**(4 years before the present)**

In modern days, a young boy named Yugi Moto received the Millennium Puzzle. Because the young boy loved puzzles and games, his Grandfather believed him to be the one to solve it.

His Grandpa didn't realize how right he was.

For eight years, Yugi pondered the solution to the mysterious pieces laid within the golden box. Finally it was one overcast night where he was putting the final pieces on the upside-down pyramid-shaped object on a string.

"Okay, it's almost done. Just one more piece." As Yugi reached into the box for the Y-shaped piece with an eye at the center, he was unaware of the strange black smoke that was rapidly encircling the room.

* * *

At that same moment, thousands of miles away at a remote location near the south-west boarder of Egypt, an archaeological team broke through a wall to a tomb.

"I knew it, I knew there was a tomb over here," the leader of the team, Professor Bartholomew, said excitedly.

"But why would they bury it so far out of the way from the Valley of the Kings?" Sanford, one of his assistants, asked.

"The Pharaohs must have wanted this particular tomb forgotten by history," Bartholomew explained.

"But why?" Sanford asked again.

"That's what we're here to find out."

* * *

Yugi took a deep breath. "Finally, after eight years, it'll be completed." He slid the final piece into the puzzle. The piece clicked as the others had done. "At last, the Millennium Puzzle has been completed."

* * *

"Very interesting," Bartholomew said studying the large sarcophagus that was chained shut. The casket's head was shaped like a jackal or a dog. "Definitely modeled after the god Anubis."

"Wasn't he the evil God of the Underworld?" Sanford asked.

"He was God of the Underworld but he was hardly evil," Bartholomew explained. "Anubis ruled over the dead and the underworld. People honored him almost as much as they honored Osiris or Horus. But why they would chain it up is beyond me?"

"Professor Bartholomew, Professor Bartholomew!" Sumi, one of the interns sent along with them, ran up to him. "I found something, come look." Professor Bartholomew and Sanford followed her into a side room. On a pedestal was a blue pyramid with a brass eye with a pink bead at the center.

"Incredible," Bartholomew said. "It's incredible that such craftsmanship existed thousands of years ago. And I don't recognize the metal."

"What is it?"

"I think it was some sort of ceremonial pendant or necklace but what significance is beyond me. Sumi, start sketching it, we might have to bring this to Lebeau is France or Hunter in America."

"Hey does anybody hear a rumbling?" Sumi asked.

* * *

Suddenly the Millennium Puzzle started to glow. Dark tendrils of energy seemed to form some kind of black wall around him. "Huh, what's going on?" Yugi asked. "Grandpa, Mom, anybody!"

* * *

Strange sounds started to come from around him. Strange creatures started to appear. Some of them looked like mutated fish or zombies. Others looked like insects. One even looked like a giant furball with green toes and a snarling mouth.

Later in the future, Yugi would come to recognize them as Morinphen (1), Dark Spirit of the Silent, Worm Drake (2) and Kuriboh (3).

But at the current time, he was too scared to make the connection between these creatures and the pictures on a new and upcoming card game: Duel Monsters.

"No, stay away from me!" He cried. "Don't come any closer!"

* * *

The entire tomb started buckling. "The tomb is collapsing," Bartholomew said. "Hurry; both of you get out of here!" They started to run for the opening but rocks were already started to pile on it.

The sarcophagus started shaking on its own. Bartholomew and his two assistants could hear some kind of deep chanting.

* * *

Yugi let out a scream. Still holding the Millennium Puzzle he dropped to his knees. Unknown to him, a strange golden eye tattoo started to glow on his forehead.

"What's… happening… to me," Yugi staggered in his speech. "Feels like… I'm losing… my mind!"

* * *

Professor Bartholomew and his two assistants huddled in the side room. "Professor, are we going to die?" Sumi asked.

"I pray not," Bartholomew replied.

"Look at that pyramid." The pyramid pendant was starting to glow a blue color. Sanford walked towards it.

"Sanford, don't touch it," Bartholomew pleaded. "It might be dangerous!" He ran to stop the assistant.

* * *

The monsters, there were so many of them now, were coming towards him. "Stay away," Yugi pleaded. "Leave me alone!" Suddenly a burst of yellow light exploded from the Millennium Puzzle. The light helix around Yugi and coursed into his body.

* * *

Sumi screamed as a burst of blue light emitted from the blue pendant and consumed her field of vision.

* * *

The monsters realized that something was different about the human. Perhaps it was the strange golden eye tattoo on his forehead or maybe it was the harsh look in his eyes or maybe the strong, almost proud stance he exhibited. But whatever it was, it made them pause in their advance.

The body may have been Yugi Moto but whatever was inside the body was not Yugi Moto. This was a much darker presence.

And this presence wasn't scared of them one little bit.

This Dark Yugi held up his hand with the Millennium Puzzle dangling from it. "Shadow Creatures be gone!" Dark Yugi commanded. "Return to the realm from which you came!" Gold energy tendrils began absorbing the monsters and the black smoke around him. Finally the room returned to normal.

And apparently so did Yugi.

Yugi felt drained, like he just ran a marathon. He collapsed to the ground never realizing what happened or realizing that his Millennium Puzzle was still glowing.

* * *

_It wasn't supposed to happen but it did. With the completion of the Millennium Puzzle, the Shadow Games began anew. But this time, they will be taken to a level never imagined by the creator of the Millennium Puzzle._


	3. Culture Shock

"Hello and welcome to Culture Shock, Domino's only local TV program dedicated to the people, places, and things that make up today's society. I'm Robert Hadley."

"And I'm Stacey Nguyen. Card games have always been a popular form of entertainment from the tarot readings of the far east to the more popular Black Jack."

"But the latest card game to sweep the world is Duel Monsters from Industrial Illusions."

"Duel Monsters has rapidly become the number one form of entertainment for everyone from young kids to middle-age men. It has become more than a card game, it has become a past time, like soccer or baseball."

"That's right, Stacey, and like soccer and baseball, it also has its all-stars. And nobody can think of Duel Monsters without thinking of Yugi Moto, the King of Games."

"I recently sat down with the young dueling dynamo to discuss his rise to fame and the secrets to his success."

* * *

"Yugi, you have been a familiar face in the world of Duel Monsters for a couple of years now. Yet it doesn't seem you've fallen into the normal glitz and glamour that most celebrities fall into."

"Well I have to admit, Ms. Nguyen, I'm still trying to adjust to it all. I've never been used to being the center of attention. But I think I owe a lot to the people around me."

"Your parents taught you to play?"

"No, my Dad died years ago and my Mom doesn't know a whole lot about card games. Actually I was taught by my Grandfather, Solomon."

"Your Grandfather, I was told he was once an Egyptologist."

"Yeah, he was, but now he's retired and owns a Game Shop right here in town."

"You said that you owe it to the people around you. Does that include your opponents?"

"Definitely, in fact if it wasn't for Seto Kaiba, I probably wouldn't be in the position I am today."

"That's right, the first public record of you dueling is your match with Seto Kaiba in which you summoned Exodia the Forbidden One (4). Tell me, have you used the Exodia cards since then?"

"No, to tell you the truth I think using the Exodia cards is a little unfair to my opponents. I like to duel on even ground with my opponents."

"You won two Duel Monster tournaments back-to-back, Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and became the second youngest person ever to win a tournament right behind Weevil Underwood. What do you think is the secret to your success?"

"That's a hard question to answer. Like I said before, I owe a lot of my success to the people around me. My Grandfather taught me to duel and I have friends who cheer for me when I win and give me encouragement when I lose."

"Which seems to be rare if your record is to be believed."

"It is rare but it has happened. My opponents duel their hardest forcing me to match them in strength and skill. In other words, they make me strive to improve myself."

"I have to admit, Yugi, you're nothing like what I expected. From the videos of your duels supplied to Culture Shock by Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation, you seem to be a fierce warrior yet kind as well."

"Thank you. I admit I can be an entirely different person when I duel sometime but I never lose track of who I really am. That's what I meant by moral support. My friends help remind me not to be too overconfident. I also owe a lot of thanks to my cards."

"Your cards?"

"That's right. I know it's crazy, but I consider my cards like a part of my family. And together we help each other win each duel."

"Does that include the three God Cards you picked up at Battle City?"

"That's right, even the three God Cards. We're probably the weirdest family you'll ever come across."

"Have you received any proposals?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, sorry, I guess I should rephrase that. Have you received any challenges?"

"You mean has anyone asked to duel me since Battle City?"

"Yes."

"Only Seto Kaiba has challenged me formally but I'm always willing to accept new duels."

* * *

"Yugi was very cheerful and polite, Thomas, not at all from what I'd expect."

"I guess as long as you don't have to duel him, he can be a pleasant boy. Thanks for that report, Stacy. Coming up next, are cartoons getting too adult. Henrietta Cuffington's special expose on the grown-up child, this is Culture Shock."

* * *

"You wanted a rematch, Seto Kaiba, well you got one."

"Yeah, but this time thing's are going to end differently, you pompous wind bag!" The two opponents stared each other down. The boys were the same age with one had spiky blonde hair with black roots and red tips and violet eyes. He was dressed in a blue jacket over a black shirt and blue jeans. He also wore an upside down pyramid around his neck.

His opponent was taller with brown hair in a bowl cut and blue eyes. He was dressed in a silver sleeveless duster over black shirt and pants. Both boys had strange devices with cards on them.

"Even you have to admit that your Blue-Eyes White Dragon (5) is no match for my three Egyptian God Cards." He motioned to the three giants behind him:

Obelisk the Tormentor (6), a burly demonic creature that towered over all.

Slifer the Sky Dragon (7), a serpentine dragon with two mouths.

And the Winged Dragon of Ra (8), a creature with a bird head and a combination of man and beast body. Its golden skin shone metallic-like.

(Y: 2200)  
(K: 1300)

"Make all the smug pronouncements you like, Yugi," Kaiba said as he drew a card from his deck. "But know this, there's got to be a way to beat your God Cards and I won't stop until I find it! I play Polymerization fusing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon I have on the field with the two more I have in my hand." Holograms of two more Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards appeared before they transformed into energy and merged with the one that was on the field. "My three dragons have now fused together to form the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (9)!" The new monster was a large three-headed version of Kaiba's dragon. Kaiba leapt onto the forehead of the center dragon head. "And that's just for starters next I activate a magic card which doubles my monster's attack points, Megamorph!" The dragon suddenly grew bigger breaking the walls around the stadium they were dueling in.

(BEUD: 4500-9000)

"Now my Blue-Eyes is the most powerful monster on the field!"

"There's more to power than just attack points," Yugi argued in that deep voice he normally uses when he's dueling.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that my Egyptian God Cards possess powers far beyond mere monsters!"

"They what?"

"By sacrificing two," Yugi continued. "I can bestow upon the third infinite strength!" Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra also turned into energy and was absorbed by Obelisk the Tormentor. Obelisk's color turned a sinister violet hue, its eyes a blood red.

(OT: ∞)

Yugi leapt onto Obelisk's shoulder, "Now my Obelisk the Tormentor is the strongest monster in play!"

"No, I can beat your God Cards, I won't lose to you again!" Kaiba cried as his three-headed dragon opened all of its mouths, each preparing to unleash a fierce energy blast.

"Obelisk the Tormentor, show him what true power is all about! Attack with Fists of Fury!" Obelisk fired a blue shaft of energy from its arm which met an energy blast from Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon. The two blasts met half-way, each pushing against the other. Finally, Obelisk's blast overpowered Ultimate Dragon's and destroyed it sending Kaiba plummeting to the ground.

* * *

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

SYSTEM OVERLOAD

"Quick, someone get a fire extinguisher!" A voice cried as hands tried to desperately put a burning control panel out.

"I'm sorry, Mister Kaiba," a bearded technician said. "But I was almost certain my calculations were correct this time."

"Just give us one more chance," another technician pleaded.

"So you can fail again?" Kaiba retorted from behind them. "Sorry."

"Please, sir, we're very close to postulating a winning stratagem!"

"Well if I were you, I'd start postulating myself a new job. You had plenty of time to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards, but as usual I'm going to have to take matters into my own hand! Now get out!"

Slightly behind his brother, Mokuba Kaiba groaned. Kaiba had spent the past three months trying to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards. He passed Kaiba Corp. business off to Mokuba himself and the new Board of Directors. He even left his classes at Domino High, all just to find a way to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards. Mokuba knew that the technician's simulation was sound. But what they didn't know was that Kaiba reprogrammed the simulation so that the God Cards would win every time. Mokuba knew the God Cards were not unbeatable, he saw that for himself at Battle City, but Kaiba was programming no-win scenarios. But why?

* * *

Once in the sanctuary of his own office, Kaiba pondered the dilemma as he stared out the window. _There has to be a way to get rid of Yugi's God Cards… _He stared at a small television screen that was turned to a commercial for the latest expansion pack of Duel Monsters. The Industrial Illusions logo flashed briefly in the lower corner. _And I think I know where to start looking._

* * *

Far away on the other side of the world, a man slept in a castle, unaware that a spirit had entered his bed chambers. The spirit went up to a safe and opened it without even turning the combination lock. The spirit disappeared into a leather brief case and the safe door slammed again.

The sleeping man had no idea.

* * *

He was standing in a desert landscape. What was he doing there, not even he knew. He could hear deep chanting in an unfamiliar language. He looked up and saw three creatures standing in the sky, three creatures he recognized.

"The God Cards?"

Light particles began rising. The light particles were making the God Monsters convulse in pain. The light particles entrapped the monsters in a large blue pyramid with a brass eye and a bead at the center.

The chanting grew louder and louder and all of a sudden he could understand it.

_From the light comes the darkness._

The pyramid broke apart and the pieces started to fall on him.

* * *

Maximillion Pegasus sat up in his bed panting heavily. "What a horrible nightmare," he complained. He got up from his bed and shook the sweat from his nightshirt. "No more white wine before bed time for me," he chided himself half humorously. Pegasus went to the glass door and looked out at the night-covered ocean and the full moon. "Seems quiet enough, yet I sense chaos on the horizon. I may have lost my Millennium Eye some time ago, but I can still see that something horrible is about to unfold, something that involves the Egyptian God Monsters."

* * *

Solomon Moto was a man of habit. He enjoyed watching cartoons in the evening, drinking margaritas at parties, and tending to his beloved Kame Game Shop. Another habit he had was to read the newspaper whenever he wasn't helping customers. This morning, he was reading an article about a mummy and strange object that was brought to the Domino Museum. "It's about time the museum got some decent Egyptian artifacts. I guess they were tired of King Tut's bust and Nefertiti's necklace." He then took a closer look at the object that was brought in and gasped.

The object was a pyramid-shaped object. Because the picture was in black and white, he couldn't tell of the color. But the resemblance was uncanny.

"It looks just like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. This I have to see." Solomon threw down the newspaper and ran out ignoring the article about how lives were lost in bringing it to Domino and the mysterious chanting that some survivors of the exhibition claimed to hear.


	4. Overduel

One of Kaiba Corporation's latest investments was in the construction of the Duel Dome. Its primary function was to house big time Duel Monster Tournaments and related conventions.

But it also had a secondary function not Duel Monster related.

It was also an airport.

The large domed roof that marked the namesake of the building parted.

"This is Dome Command, initiating Duel Dome launch conversion, over."

"Roger, Dome Command," Mokuba replied from the control tower (along with three "bridge bunnies"), "Prepare all stations for immediate dragon flight, over."

"Roger, we now show Mister Kaiba approaching primary launch deck, over."

A large jet that was shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon rose from deep within the mesa that the Duel Dome stood upon. Kaiba approached the jet carrying a flight helmet. Once on, he activated its communicator. "Begin final checking sequence at once," he commanded.

Immediately the air traffic technicians began their final check list.

"Vector Gauge."

"Check."

"Navigation sensors."

"Check."

"Ready the launch pad."

"Roger, opening hanger doors." The floor of the main Duel Dome parted and the jet popped out. A flame shield rose into place. "Blue-Eyes White Jet, you're prepared for take-off!"

"Activating main thrusters!"

Mokuba sent one last transmission to Kaiba, "I hope you know what you're doing, Big Brother."

"I was hoping the same thing," Kaiba mumbled in reply. The jet took off and flew west across the ocean.

* * *

Pegasus was lounging on his patio wearing only a robe. He enjoyed lazy sunny days like this. His manservant, Croquet, brought him some red wine from Pegasus's personal collection to calm his nerves from the nightmare he had last night.

He had just taken a sip when he caught a familiar reflection in his glass. He stood and saw Kaiba approaching from behind him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my dear friend Kaiba-Boy," he said with a smile.

"Spare me the pleasantries, Pegasus, you and I were never friends so let's not start pretending we are."

"Oh my, sounds like somebody needs a hug."

"No thanks but since you mentioned it, there is something I need." Pegasus just took a sip of his wine. "Listen, I came to your fantasy island in search for a card powerful enough to beat Yugi's three Egyptian God Cards."

Pegasus smiled amused. He knew it was only a matter of time before Kaiba would come searching for him. But he enjoyed seeing Kaiba squirm so he decided to draw it out a little. "And you believe I have this all-powerful God-smiting card because…?"

"Because you created the game, Pegasus,"

"Once upon a time, Kaiba-Boy, but I'm retired now. The only things I make these days are coy ponds and paintings." He motioned to a coy pond next to his lounge chair.

"I know you, Pegasus you created the God Cards and would've never let them out of your grubby little hands unless you also created a way to beat them just in case."

"Oh very well, I confess I may have one card that would help but you can't have it."

Kaiba knew Pegasus was doing this just to get a reaction out of him. But that didn't stop him from going bug-eyed and growling, "What?"

"I'm sorry, Kaiba-Boy, but I don't think you deserve it. True I may not see as well as I once did…" He lifted his silver bangs out of the left side of his face showing Kaiba the scab that was once an eye and making Kaiba forcibly hold down his lunch. "But it doesn't take a magical eye to see just how thoroughly Yugi has trounced your sorry behind time and again. Quite frankly it's embarrassing, at least to those of us who have beaten him without resulting to suicide threats or verbal harassment." Both knew what Pegasus was talking about, how during the Duelist Kingdom tournament Kaiba threatened to throw himself off a tower if Yugi didn't give in.

"Well since I'm such a disappointment, you'll have no trouble beating me in a duel."

"And why would I duel you?"

Kaiba took out his three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards. "Because if you're willing to put up the card I need to beat Yugi, I'll wager these."

Pegasus was secretly surprised. Kaiba was willing to give up his three favorite cards just for a chance to trounce Yugi. Kaiba must really want that card. "Well I guess I can dust off my dueling deck." He chuckled, "Kaiba, my dear and devious friend, let the games begin!"

* * *

"Harold… Harold… HAROLD!" Harold Kumara felt something slam into the back of his head. "Pink with little-blue bears! Huh?" He cried standing up. He turned and saw Tristan Taylor holding up some crumpled up paper bags. "Tristan, next time just shake me awake!"

"I did, five times."

"Sorry, I was up all night studying for that history test."

"History? Harold, the test was in English." Tristan pointed to the blackboard where several English words including providence, evolution, sanctuary, and mason were listed along with translations.

"Crap." Harold patted down his short blue-black hair. "I only hope I wasn't snoring."

"Yeah, but why were you dreaming about something pink with little-blue bears?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Harold said zipping up his blue jacket. "Come on, let's go." The two left the English classroom and met up with a shaggy blonde kid.

"About time you two showed up," he said. "What, was Harold sleeping in class again?"

"At least I had a good reason for sleeping," Harold argued.

"Yeah, he studied for the wrong test."

"And they say I'm the dumb one."

"What is this, Beat up on Harold Day?"

"Cheer up, pal, it's a three-day weekend, we don't get too much of that."

"Hey guys!" The three boys were joined by a short boy with spiky hair wearing an upside down pyramid on a chain around his neck and a girl with short brown hair and blue eyes.

"What took you two?" Harold asked.

The girl chuckled, "Yugi fell asleep in class."

"Give me a break, Tea, I was up all night studying for that English test."

"Except the test was in history."

The others laughed while both Yugi and Harold sighed in shame.

"Let's blow this pop stand!"

The five friends left the school building. Near the gate of Domino High School, there was a large crowd gathered.

"What's going on over there?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know," Joey replied. "I haven't seen such a commotion in front of the school since the time Harold messed up that cooking class."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that was furniture polish and not cooking spray?"

"The orangy smell?"

"What's up?" Tristan asked a nearby student.

"A lot of people seem to be waiting for someone," the student replied.

"Huh, let me see," Yugi said as he shoved himself between two bodies.

He would soon wish he hadn't.

"There he is, told you he was shorter than on TV." The crowd was all Duelists, and since they were carrying Duel Disks, there was only person they would be waiting for.

Yugi screamed and fell back into the crowd as the other students tried to keep the mob at bay.

"What's with all these people?" Tea asked.

"Life at the top, Tea," Tristan replied as he tried to fend them off. "Everybody knows Yugi's the best Duelist around so they all want a piece of him."

"More like a piece of the God Cards," Harold added.

"Tea, sneak Yugi out back, we'll take care of them," Joey instructed.

"You sure?" Tea asked.

"Definitely, if anybody can take care of these kids, it's us," Harold said.

"Thanks, guys," Yugi said.

"Thank them later," Tea said grabbing Yugi and sneaking him back into the building.

"No way, I'm getting those God Cards no matter what!" A big burly guy in sun glasses reached out to grab Yugi.

"Sorry, but card games aren't allowed on school grounds," Harold cracked. "How about instead we play a little… ball!" Harold brought his foot up in between the man's legs. "Now if you boys don't want the same, I suggest you… gag!" The burly guy recovered and grabbed Harold by the neck.

"You're going to take us to Yugi and we're going to duel him whether you like it or not," the burly guy said. The Duelists around him shouted agreement.

Suddenly something slammed into the burly guy's legs. Harold was dropped and the burly guy fell to his knees.

"Phew, looks like I got here just in time." A girl stepped out from the crowd. She had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and green eyes. She was dressed in the female uniform of Domino High.

"Amara, just in the nick of time," Tristan said.

"You guys couldn't duel Yugi if he was tied up, blind folded, and using a deck filled with Kuriboh. In fact I bet you couldn't even deal with me."

"Is that a challenge, little girl?" Another mob member, a well-dressed boy asked. "Well bring it on!"

"Yeah, we all will duel you!"

"Hey Amara!" Joey took out his own Duel Disk. "Don't hog this cannon fodder all for your self let us join in on the fun."

"Yeah," Harold agreed putting on his own Duel Disk. "If these losers can't get past the three of us, then they won't stand a chance against Yugi."

"We don't have to duel you nobodys," a third mob Duelist said.

"Nobody and I mean nobody calls me a nobody, you nobody!" Joey snapped.

"And if you want to duel the King of Games, you'll have to go through his bodyguards first," Amara added.

"Bring it!" The burly leader guy commanded.

"Eject holo-emitters!" Harold commanded. From the underside of each Duel Disk two devices flew out and landed on either side of the Duelist. "Duel Tray transform!" The two panels came together on the outside. "Scan deck!" The Duelists inserted their decks into the slots. "Life points set!" The life point counter shot up to 4000.

"Let's duel!"


	5. Triple Threat

Joey faced off against their leader, the brute guy who tried to choke Harold. "Ladies first," Joey offered.

"Very funny," the Brute grumbled.

(J: 4000)  
(B: 4000)

"This won't take too long. I'll start by summoning Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (10) in attack mode and then I'll attack you directly!"

(J: 3200)  
(B: 3200)

Joey was stabbed with a load of spikes including one up the butt. "Hey, that's just rude! Let a pro show you how it's done."

"You mean Seto Kaiba's near by?"

"Smart alec," Joey groaned as he drew his sixth card. "First I'll play a magic card called Meteor of Destruction!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yeah, that means 1000 points less for you!" A large comet slammed into the guy knocking him for a loop.

(J: 3200)  
(B: 2200)

"Next I summon Panther Warrior (11) in attack mode. Take your best shot, Mary Sunshine."

"I won't need my best shot to deal with the likes of you! I set a monster face-down and end my turn!"

"Temper, temper, Goldilocks," Joey said. "My move. I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman (12) in attack mode and I'll sacrifice him to have my Panther Warrior attack that face-down card!" The Panther Warrior charged towards the horizontal card back.

"Thank you, you just turned over my Cyber Jar (13), now all our monsters are destroyed and we each summon any level 4 or lower monsters. Now I summon Legacy Hunter (14) and Armored Lizard (15)!"

"A thief and a reptile, suits you," Joey cracked as he started picking up cards. "Booyah, thanks to that, I got some of my most favorite monsters. Say hello to Baby Dragon (16), Rocket Warrior (17), Little-Winguard (18), and Gearfried the Iron Knight (19). Go for it."

"If you weren't my ticket to dueling Yugi, I would clobber you like the worthless has-been you are." The Brute drew a card. "I sacrifice both my monsters to summon Fusilier Dragon the Dual-Mode Beast (20)! Attack with Gatling Gun!" The dragon fired a barrage of bullets that destroyed Gearfried. "Ready to give up, loser?"

"To you, perish the thought," Joey said as he drew a card. "Ho boy, you're in trouble now! I sacrifice Baby Dragon, Rocket Warrior, and Little-Winguard so I can summon Gilford the Lightning (21)!" Joey's large warrior appeared. "Which means all your monsters are now destroyed, pal!" Gilford raised his sword and lightning destroyed his dragon.

"My dragon, no!"

"But wait, it gets better, Hector! Gilford, attack him directly! Lightning Sword!" Gilford swung his sword across the Brute's stomach.

(J: 3200)  
(B: 0)

"Maybe now you'll have more respect towards Joey Wheeler, the… uh… Godfather of Games."

"Are you serious?" Tristan muttered listening to the worse Brando voice he had ever heard.

* * *

Harold was up against someone whom he called the Whiner. Actually it was a 14 year old girl but she whined so much that Harold just wanted to slap her mouth right off.

(H: 4000)  
(W: 4000)

"Man, Yugi can't go anywhere without being bugged into a duel," Harold complained as he began his turn.

"But all I want is to duel him and you won't let me," Whiner said.

"Well maybe if you heard of personal space," Harold returned. "I'll start by summoning Neo the Magic Swordsman (22) in attack mode."

"Then I'll play…"

"I'm not done yet," Harold interrupted.

"Well why didn't you say so? Why don't you tell me?"

"God, I want to forfeit just so I don't have to listen to her whining," Harold grumbled. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn. Okay, now it's your turn."

The Whiner drew a card. "I summon Serpentine Princess (23) in defense mode and end my turn."

"Okay, Harold, you're off to a good start, let's not blow it," Harold muttered as he drew a card. "I sacrifice Neo the Magic Swordsman in order to summon Gyakutenno Megami (24) in defense mode."

"All you're doing is defending," the Whiner complained.

"God, it's only the second turn. Just go."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Huh?"

"Well since you insist, I sacrifice my Serpentine Princess to summon Luster Dragon #2 (25) in attack mode! Attack with Jade Fire!" And just like that, Harold's fairy was destroyed. "You're not a whole lot of fun."

"That makes two of us," Harold said as he drew a card. "I activate one of my face-down cards Jar of Greed which lets me draw another card and next I activate another face-down card Good Samaritan. Good Samaritan lets me discard an effect monster to summon a normal monster of the same level. So I'm discarding Sanga of the Thunder (26) to summon Wingweaver (27). Finally I play Cestus of Dagla increasing my monster's attack power by 500 points."

(Wi: 2750-3250)

"Wingweaver, attack Luster Dragon with Light Spark!" Wingweaver gathered light particles into her hands to form a sphere of light which she then used to destroy the green dragon.

(H: 4850)  
(W: 3150)

"That's not fair! You're supposed to lose life points, not gain life points!"

"Oh brother, that's another of Cestus of Dagla's effect. If I attack with an equipped monster, the battle damage to your life points gets treated as a raise in my own life points. In short, while you lose 850 life points, I gain that much. I'll set one of my remaining cards face-down. That ends my turn."

His opponent whined again as she drew her card. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light now you can't attack for three turns."

"That's fine by me, I can wait."

"But you're supposed to be upset, you're supposed to say something like 'you can't do that' or 'It still won't help you.'"

"Are you really a Duelist or just somebody who escaped from the loony bin?"

"I play Polymerization and I fuse my Screaming Banshee (28) with Maiden of the Forbidden Castle (29) to form Siren of the Mist (30)." Siren of the Mist was very beautiful like a Mystical Elf but with white skin and wings. "I also play Megamorph which doubles my monster's attack power."

(SM: 1800-3600)

"Siren, attack Wingweaver with Scream of Submission!" The woman let out a scream. Wingweaver's eyes glazed over before she broke apart.

(H: 4500)  
(W: 3150)

"Yes!" The Whiner cried then gasped as Wingweaver reappeared this time in defense mode. "Not fair, not fair, not fair, you're supposed to send your monster to the graveyard."

"If you'd just pipe down and listen," Harold said. "I activated my face-down trap, Soul Resurrection which returns my monster to the field in defense mode. And since you already ended your battle phase, your monster can't attack."

The Whiner suddenly became The Whimper.

"And guess what, it's my move now." He drew a card. "I play the magic card Sacred Treasure. With this, I can draw five cards but I can't attack with any monster cards I draw." To Harold's relief, he drew mostly magic cards. "I activate my face-down cards. First face-down card is Mystical Space Typhoon which destroys your Swords of Revealing Light." The golden swords around Harold broke apart. His opponent yipped in fear. "Next my second face-down card will increase my monster's attack points by 700, Horn of the Unicorn."

(Wi: 2750-3450)

"It… it still can't harm my Siren."

"I'm not planning on having her attack your Siren, but another monster."

"Huh?"

"I play the magic card Heavenly Light. This is a ritual magic card. Since Wingweaver's attack points are above 3200, I can sacrifice her to summon the ritual monster Serapheem (31)!" A beautiful angel appeared. She had long blonde hair, wings that were as wide as she was tall, and wore a white gown. "And guess what, Serapheem has a special ability. She gains 200 attack points for every normal light monster in my graveyard. Don't worry, it's only two."

(S: 3250-3650)

"Serapheem, attack with Ultra Luminosity!" Serapheem unleashed an orb of energy that destroyed the Siren.

(H: 4500)  
(W: 3100)

"But I'm not done with you yet. I activate Double Attack which allows my monster to attack again." Harold slid the monster card Moisture Creature (32) into the graveyard. "Serapheem, attack her directly!" Serapheem unleashed another orb of energy this time directly at Harold's opponent.

(H: 4500)  
(W: 0)

"I see now, you're not really a Duelist, just someone looking to prove herself. If you can't beat me, there's no way you'll beat Yugi. Don't try to set your bar very high, you'll just end up disappointing yourself every time."

* * *

Amara didn't like the look the well-dressed boy was giving her. It wasn't a sour look, it was much worse. It was a lecherous.

"I'm going to wipe that smile off your face."

"Oh please, someone as good looking as me could never lose."

"Stupid leach," Amara grumbled.

(A: 4000)  
(L: 4000)

"I summon Getsu Fuhma (33) in attack mode." A red-headed female warrior appeared.

"Then I'll activate the magic card Brain Control. By paying 800 life points I can take control of your monster.

(A: 4000)  
(L: 3200)

Getsu Fuhma's eyes glazed over and she turned to face Amara. "Getsu Fuhma, attack!" Amara suddenly found herself on the receiving end of her own monster's attack.

(A: 2300)  
(L: 3200)

"A beautiful monster such as her deserves to be with a handsome devil like me," Leach said. "But I'm afraid she won't be here for long. I'm going to sacrifice her to summon Woodborg Inpachi (34) in defense mode. There, now not only do I have a strong monster, but I cleared your field as well. What do you say to that, hun?"

"I'd say the only thing you said that I agree with is that you're a devil." Amara drew a card. "I summon two Cyber Twins (35) in attack mode!" Two purple-haired women in dresses appeared.

"But you can only summon one monster per turn!"

"Normally yes, but Cyber Twins allow me to summon more than one if I have no monsters on the field. Now I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Two beautiful women facing me, just another normal day, it's a shame though that they have to be on the side of a field of a dust ball."

"Don't go there," Amara grumbled.

"I play Yellow Luster Shield increasing my monster's defense points by 300."

(WI: 2500-2800)

"You know, I'd be willing to add you to my ever growing fan club if you would just forfeit," Leach offered.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"Who knows, with me by your side, you could be an actual woman."

"You're making me angry, pal, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

"Of course if you prefer looking like a poor excuse for a boy, then who am I to stop you?"

"That does it." Amara stared daggers into him. "NOBODY CALLS ME A BOY AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! I WILL TWIST YOUR OUTSIDES LIKE A PRETZEL YOU OVERBEARING EGOTISTICAL PANSY-FACED PIECE OF COW FLATULANCE!" Amara drew a card again and said in a low, almost sinister voice, "It's my move."

The Leach gulped.

* * *

"How'd you do, Joey?" Harold asked.

"Aced it as usual," Joey bragged. "You?"

"Pretty good, though I think the poor girl was outclassed. Come on, let's go see how…"

A loud explosion came from behind them. Joey, Tristan, and Harold turned and saw Amara standing over her opponent, who was convulsing and crying like he was 2 years old.

"Amara, what did you do?" Tristan asked.

"One… one shot," her opponent moaned.

"He got my angry so I went Lightning Vortex on him and then summoned this." She showed them a card.

Joey and Harold gasped. "Cosmo Queen (36)! That's one of the rarest cards in the game, how did you get it?" Joey asked.

"What, this? It was the first Duel Monster card I ever got. I actually styled my deck around it."

The boys' jaws dropped.

"It's Yugi!" Joey, Tristan, Harold, and Amara turned just in time to see Yugi and Tea scamper across the street to a nearby alleyway."

"Lynch mob twelve o'clock!" Amara cried as the crowd of twenty or so Duelists charged towards them.

"That does it, enough is enough," Harold said as he pushed up his right sleeve to reveal a gold-colored wrist band with strange symbols on it. "I didn't want to have to use this but these bozos leave me no choice." He held out his arm facing the approaching mob.

A rotating circle of symbols appeared in front of the mob. Suddenly it was like the mob slammed into a brick wall.

"Next stop, Domino High," Harold cracked as he thrust his arm out. The mob went flying and landed in a pile by the gate to the school. "Well that takes care of that."

"Uh… Harold," Amara called. She pointed to the ground.

Joey and Tristan were on the wrong end of Harold's Armlet's shield. They were laying face-down on the street.

"Uh… did I do that?"

* * *

Yugi and Tea ran through the alleyway. They could hear footsteps and knew that some of the mob was following them.

"We need to find a way to get away from them," Yugi said. "We need to find a place where they wouldn't look for us."

Tea stared at Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. "I have an idea!" In a surprising show of strength, she hauled Yugi onto her back and turned a corner.

"Whoa! Tea, when did you get so strong?"

"You'd be surprised what the right motivation would do."


	6. Dungeons with Dragons

Deep within Pegasus's castle was a duel arena. It was the primary set-up for all the duels during Duelist Kingdom but this down was a dumb-downed version. One side of it was blue while the other was red. On each side was a table with fourteen squares. A view screen showed the same thing on the opponent's side. Other than that, there was a wooden table and a single security camera there. It was here that Kaiba and Pegasus went.

"So what do you think, Kaiba-Boy? Is this the latest in duel arena technology or what?"

"That contraption is an outdated joke… but then again, so are you."

"Now, now, let's not get nasty… not just yet anyway. Do you really think you can beat the creator of the game?" They placed their brief cases on the table.

"Not only do I think I can beat the creator of the game, but I can beat him without even using my Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"You're going to regret making that decision, Kaiba-Boy."

"Enough small talk!" The two took their places on either side of the arena.

"Let's duel!" They both cried.

(K: 4000)  
(P: 4000)

"I'll start things off," Pegasus said as he drew his sixth card. When he saw it, he smiled. "Oh dear, I'm afraid you're about to enter a world of pain, Kaiba-Boy…" Pegasus's life points went down by 1000.

(K: 4000)  
(P: 3000)

"A world of chaos, a world of absolute mayhem." Kaiba held his breath. "That's right, a world… of toons!" A large pop-up book appeared on the field.

Kaiba laughed, "Don't tell me you're still using that idiotic Toon World card. Well this is going to be easier than I thought."

If there was one thing Pegasus hated more than anything else, it was when someone made fun of his toon monsters. "I summon Toon Gemini Elf (37)!" Two dis-proportionately buxom women appeared. Like most toon monsters, they were caricatures of the original card. They cackled as they leapt out of the Toon World book. Pegasus took another card and placed it face-down on the table. "And this for later; it's your turn, Kaiba-Boy."

Kaiba drew his sixth card. "I summon X-Head Cannon (38) and I'll also throw two cards face-down… for later."

"Oooh, I'm so scared," Pegasus mocked. "Two cards face-down? Oh mercy me, what will I do? Oh wait a minute, I know, play this: Card of Sanctity!" A bright light appeared in the sky. "Isn't it pretty? And it allows us each to draw from our decks until we're holding six cards." They each drew three cards. "And next I activate the magic card Cost Down which…"

"Do you ever shut up?" Kaiba interrupted making Pegasus even more irked. "I know what it means now you can summon your strongest monsters to the field more easily. Oh please, what do you take me for some kind of rookie?"

"You're not that good, Kaiba-Boy. Your defeats by Yugi are proof of that."

Kaiba growled.

"Down, boy. Now where were we? Oh yes, Toon Dark Magician Girl (39)!" A little chibi version of the female spellcaster popped out of the Toon World book in a puff of pink smoke. "But I won't be using her just yet. First I'll attack with the Gemini Elf and I think I'll have them target… you!" The elves kicked Kaiba in the back.

(K: 2100)  
(P: 3000)

"Cartoons are so violent these days, don't you agree?" Pegasus joked as Kaiba got up from his direct attack. But I'm not done yet, my elves have another ability." Kaiba could hear the toon monsters whispering among themselves. "When they deal damage to a player, that player loses a card from his hand." The Toon Gemini Elf took away Kaiba's Monster Reborn card. "Aren't my toons simply remarkable, Kaiba-Boy?" Kaiba growled again. "Oh don't look so sour. Think of it this way, at least it'll be it will be them stopping your little quest to the top and not Yugi-Boy for the umpteenth time. Now let's get on with the show, shall we? Oh Toon Dark Magician Girl, your turn!" The little girl charged forward.

"I guess it's true that when you grow old, the mind is the first thing to go because you forgot about my face-down cards," Kaiba snapped hoping to pay Pegasus back verbally for that quest to the top remark. He turned over one of his face-down cards. A demonic-looking suit of armor appeared. Pegasus gasped and the Toon Dark Magician Girl was bewildered. "Attack Guidance Armor, this trap behaves like a magnet in that it redirects the attack right back at you!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes I would. Attack Guidance Armor, attach yourself to the Toon Gemini Elf!" The female elves tried to outrun it but the armor ensnared both of them. Toon Dark Magician Girl didn't know who to attack. The armor's red eyes then began to glow. The Toon Dark Magician Girl cooed and then slammed her wand down on the two monsters destroying it. She laughed triumphantly not realizing it was her own allies she destroyed.

(K: 2100)  
(P: 2900)

"But they were just innocent toons! You'll pay for that, Kaiba! I activate the magic card Monster Reborn to bring them back!" The Toon Gemini Elf reappeared and the Toon Dark Magician Girl laughed again. Pegasus turned over his face-down card. "And play Ultimate Offering, now for every 500 life points I give up I can summon one additional monster and by sacrificing my Gemini Elf…" Kaiba forgot that Pegasus's Cost Down card was still in play. That meant the monster he was trying to summon could be level 7 or even 8. "And by sacrificing my Toon Gemini Elf, this first monster is a powerful one!" The Toon Gemini Elf was pulled into the Toon World book. The book started to glow intensely. "Introducing the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon (40)!" This dragon had the same stats as Kaiba's beloved dragon but it was a mere munchkin of the actual card. "Looks quite vicious, doesn't he? Well don't worry, he's actually quite docile… well compared to my next toon anyway. Ladies and gents, meet the Toon Summoned Skull (41)!" A blue cartoon demon appeared. "Sure I'll have to give up 500 life points but you know what they say, you have to spend life points to take life points."

(K: 2100)  
(P: 2400)

"Of course you know all about that, Yugi's been taking your life points for years now… oh, sorry to keep bringing that up."

Kaiba thumbed his nose at Pegasus as he started his turn. "I activate the magic card Dark Core. Now by discarding one card from my hand, I can remove any monster from the game."

"I see then… well… I'm sorry, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, but I guess this is good-bye." The dragon's eyes bugged out at that comment.

"Not quite, Pegasus, you won't be getting off that easily because I'm discarding Y-Dragon Head (42) from my hand so I can remove X-Head Cannon from the game." X-Head Cannon was sucked into a black vortex.

"But X-Head Cannon is your own monster! What are you scheming?"

"I also activate the magic card Soul Release to remove one more monster from the game and I'm using it on my Y-Dragon Head."

"Why are you removing your own monsters?"

"And now I summon Z-Metal Tank (43) in attack mode!" Z-Metal Tank looked like a yellow caterpillar with tank treads.

"That makes no sense! Z-Metal Tank's true power lies with the X and Y monsters that you just removed. There's no point in summoning it unless…"

"Unless I have a card that can remedy that situation and it just so happens I do. Activate trap card: Return from the Different Dimension."

(K: 1050)  
(P: 2400)

"It may cost me half my life points but its well worth it to bring back all the monsters I removed from play, a nice trick to have when you need to summon more than one monster in a turn." X-Head Cannon and Y-Dragon Head reappeared. "And as you well know, Pegasus, these aren't just any monsters, they combine!" The monsters transformed and combined into one with Z-Metal Tank on bottom, Y-Dragon Head in the middle and X-Head Cannon on top. "Together, they form the ultimate machine, XYZ-Dragon Cannon (44)! Now I have all the firepower I need to blast whatever card I want out of the duel. I told you, you has-been, I defeated you without even using my best cards! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, blast Toon World!" The Toon World card was destroyed as well as the monsters that were summoned with it. "Now attack him directly! Fuse Cannon Firestorm!" The two barrels on XYZ-Dragon Cannon's shoulders fired.

At that moment, a card hidden in Pegasus's brief case released a shockwave, a shockwave that interacted with XYZ-Dragon Cannon's attack solidifying the beam and throwing Pegasus back into the wall.

(K: 1050)  
(P: 0)

"Game over," Kaiba declared as Pegasus struggled to stand. "Now let's see what you have to beat Yugi's Egyptian God Cards." Kaiba scanned Pegasus's deck and to the white-haired man's surprise took two cards. "Seems you've been keeping two cards from me."

"Two cards?" Pegasus asked confused. "What are you talking about, Kaiba, I made only one! I'm serious this time! I made only one card!"

"Yeah, right," Kaiba said sarcastically. "See ya, snake!" And he left.

Pegasus staggered to his feet. _I don't get it. I made only one card, I'm dead certain that there's only one card in my deck. What could possibly make Kaiba think there were two cards? _Pegasus looked at the security camera which had been filming the table. Pegasus staggered out and ran up to his control room. "Croquet, bring up the footage of the basement dueling arena for the past ten minutes."

"Yes, sir." The arena appeared on a monitor.

"Fast forward." In rapid motion, Kaiba and Pegasus appeared and dueled. As sooon as Kaiba was over by the table Pegasus ordered, "Stop. Proceed in slow motion." At one-half times the speed, Kaiba reached into Pegasus's brief case and withdrew two cards. "Freeze. Zoom in on the cards that Kaiba has in his hand."

"Isolating image," Croquet announced. Activating zoom lens." The cards immediately got bigger. Pegasus recognized one of the cards, the card that he made to combat the God Cards but the other.

Pegasus gasped, his remaining good eye widened. It was a trap card. But that alone didn't make sense, God Cards could not be affected by trap cards.

"Excuse me, Mister Pegasus, but there's something…"

"Hmmm… what is it, Croquet?"

"Sir, the name of the card that Kaiba picked up… well… sir, maybe you better take a look at this newspaper. Croquet split screen the monitor with a newspaper article on the right and the mysterious card on the left.

Pegasus gasped. "Croquet, prepare the chopper immediately!"


	7. Days Gone By

Yugi and Tea had taken refuge inside the Domino History Museum, the only place (they hoped) that the Duel Monsters mob would not look for them in.

"Good idea, Tea, nobody would dare look for us here," Yugi said.

"You mean you here, because right now you're at the center of the Duel Monsters world." Yugi blushed which made Tea chuckle. The two stopped and looked at a placard that depicted an Ancient Egyptian exhibit.

Yugi gasped. He saw a picture of a blue pyramid with a brass eye and pink bead at the center. "Tea, look that blue pyramid thing looks like my Millennium Puzzle!"

"Yeah, it does," Tea agreed. "Let's go take a look." As the two walked through the museum, they came upon a large sarcophagus.

It was open.

Inside was a mummy. It didn't look special; its body was bandaged as all mummies were. The lower part of its face was set in a muted scream. Its arms were crossed. Resting near the heart (or where the heart would be) was a dagger with a crooked blade made of bone.

Yugi read the title card on the display case. "The Tomb of Anubis, that's weird. Anubis was the Egyptian God of the Underworld. Could this actually be him?" Yugi stared at the mummy. "If it is, it would be one heck of a find. Whoever discovered it must be really, really excited to discover the actual body of a god."

"Well I'm going to be really, really sick if we don't move it."

"Okay, Tea, I get the point, you're not a mummy fan." Tea shoved Yugi along unaware that the eye sockets were glowing red.

When the two arrived at the display case that displayed the blue pyramid, they found that they weren't the only ones there.

"It's my Grandfather!"

"Well looks like great minds think alike," Solomon quipped.

"So you came to see the blue pyramid too?"

"Yup."

Tea read the display card. "This says it's called the Pyramid of Light. Long ago in the Old Kingdom, it belonged to an evil sorcerer tried to bring about the end of the world. He was eventually defeated by a Pharaoh, a Pharaoh who possessed the power of shadows and a pendant that could call on the gods."

"Power of shadows… pendant that could call on the gods… that sounds like my Millennium Puzzle!"

"Yes, but when Professor Hawkins and I discovered the Egyptian Archives, it gave no mention of an eighth item."

"But how was he beaten?" Yugi asked.

"I'll show you." Solomon took the kids to Anubis's coffin. "See that knife in with the body?"

"I wish I didn't," Tea grumbled. "I think I'm about to blow chunks."

"It's called the Dagger of Fate," Solomon explained. "This is most likely the murder weapon. And according to legend, it had only one owner: a Pharaoh wearing a pyramid-shaped artifact, a Pharaoh whose name has been lost throughout history."

"An unknown Pharaoh and a pyramid-shaped artifact…" Yugi held up his Millennium Puzzle. "It's all too much of a coincidence."

"I agree," Solomon said. "I think that this sorcerer who had taken the name of one of the Egyptian Gods has something to do with the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games. But it's strange. In all my years of Egyptology I have never seen or heard of anything like it before. And neither Professor Hawkins nor Dr. Hunter had mentioned anything about it."

"Well someone must know about it," Yugi said. "Otherwise how else would it end up here?"

* * *

Pegasus knocked on the door of the small Cairo apartment. After a few minutes, the door opened and a woman answered the door. Her face was rugged, her dark hair was unkempt and her face seemed to be permanently set in a scowl.

"Doctor Sumi Hikari?" Pegasus asked.

"Who wants to…" She gasped as she looked closer at Pegasus. "You're Maxamillion Pegasus, the creator of the Duel Monsters Card Game."

"That's correct but right now it's your work I'm interested in talking about."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to talk about… the Pyramid of Light."

That caused a surprised reaction from the woman. "Please, come in." Her apartment looked more like an old book store then living quarters. Sumi cleared some books on the Crusades off a couch so Pegasus could have a seat.

"Dr. Hikari, I know you were the one who found the Pyramid of Light and the Tomb of Anubis."

Sumi scowled, "No, I was not the only one who found it but I was the only one to emerge alive after it was found."

"What do you mean?"

"There were two others with me, Professor Bartholomew and Sanford, his assistant."

"But then how…?"

Sumi stood by the single dirty window in her apartment as the memories came flooding back to her.

* * *

_I was only 19, still a kid in the grand scheme of things. I always loved studying the past and majored in archaeology at college. One day I received my dream job, interning on a real archaeological dig. Professor Bartholomew, the head of the archaeology department at the college, had discovered a strange tomb far away from the Valley of the Kings. A team was assembled but only the Professor, Sanford, and me, entered._

_The hieroglyphs on the wall told of a great battle. A Pharaoh with a pendant that could control the gods and a dagger forged from human bones fought a man with great power. Though the world was saved by the Pharaoh and his army, it was a bitter victory for the Pharaoh had given his own life to defeat the evil man. The survivors of the Great War entombed the man in a casket designed in the likeness of the god Anubis. For that reason alone, it is called the Lost Tomb of Anubis._

* * *

"That still doesn't explain the Pyramid of Light."

"The Pyramid…" Sumi let out a harsh laugh. "If I hadn't discovered that blasted thing, Professor Bartholomew and Sanford might still be alive today."

* * *

_I was the one who discovered the Pyramid of Light in a side chamber. Why it wasn't included with the body is beyond me. Suddenly the tomb started to come down around us. We were trapped with little air. But that wasn't our real problem. The Pyramid started to glow. It released some kind of light._

* * *

"Look, hieroglyphics." Yugi pointed to some scriptures that were written on the side of the sarcophagus. "What does it say, Grandpa?"

"Well let's see, it's been a while since I read Egyptian but… 'The eye that sees what's yet to come, its vision shall be fulfilled. Unless blinded by events of providence, thus light and shadows both be killed.'"

In the next room, the Pyramid of Light started to glow.

* * *

"When I awoke, they had managed to dig me out but they couldn't find Professor Bartholomew or Sanford. Nobody believed me about the Pyramid and the only two people who could vouch for my story were gone." She stared down Pegasus with a determined glance. "Now, Mister Pegasus, it's my turn to ask a question. Why are you interested in the Pyramid of Light? It is on display at the Natural History Museum in Domino, they own it now."

"I was afraid of that," Pegasus muttered. He reached into his jacket inside pocket and took out a folded-up picture. He handed it to her. Sumi unfolded it and took a look at the picture, then at Pegasus, then back to the picture, then back to Pegasus. "Dr. Hikari, every Duel Monster card that's ever made has to go through me before being put into production. And I don't remember this card being put into production."

"I see, but the only place that would truly have the answers you seek is at the actual tomb and that's buried under rubble."

"Then I'll have to just start digging until I get to it." He got up. "Dr. Hikari, thank you, you've been a big help."

"You're planning on going to the tomb, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Please, take me with you." Pegasus looked at her out of the corner of his good eye. "Ever since I was pulled from that rubble, people have been treating me like a crazy person. They said that the near-death experience and the death of Professor Bartholomew and Sanford had blinded me to reality. I'm starting to believe that they were right but the only way to put my mind at ease is to revisit the place where it all began. Please, take me along, for my own peace of mind if nothing else."

"Very well, follow me my helicopter's waiting outside."

* * *

He was in space. How was he in space? How was he standing and breathing? He heard deep chanting. He looked up and saw two pyramids. One was blue and right side up and the other was yellow and upside down. Slowly the yellow pyramid started to break down. A flash of light and he saw himself facing Seto Kaiba… no it wasn't him, it was the Pharaoh. Suddenly Kaiba's body bulged and exploded producing a large jackal-headed creature. The chanting got louder and louder and suddenly Yugi could understand it.

_"From the light comes the dark!"_

* * *

Tea was the first to awaken. "Anyone get the license on that tank?" She felt the back of her head and felt a small knot. She looked at her fingers until her vision came into focus. She then heard the alarm. "Where's…" She looked around and saw Yugi and Solomon lying on the floor besides her. "Yugi!" She gently shook him. "Yugi, are you okay?"

Yugi moaned and opened his eyes.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Tea asked again

"Just one question: who's Yugi?"

"You'll be fine," Tea said and helped Yugi up. "We have a problem."

"What kind of a problem?"

"That kind." She pointed to the display case that housed the mummy. But the mummy was gone. Alarms were blaring. "What happened to King Tut's freaky cousin?"

Security guards ran in. Two helped Yugi and Tea up while two more checked out the scene. "Oh great, the mummy's gone," one guard moaned.

"That's not the only thing," another said. "The Pyramid thing is gone too." Solomon was given some smelling salts to wake up.

"You two stay here," Yugi instructed. "I have a feeling Kaiba's in danger."

"Huh, why?"

"It's too complicated to explain. But I have to warn him." He paused and turned back. "Keep an eye on Grandpa, Tea." And without any other words, Yugi took off.

"What hit me?" Solomon asked.

"Probably whoever took the mummy."

Solomon looked at the display case. "No, this is impossible."

"What's wrong?"

"Look at the glass, Tea. Now I'm no detective but if someone did want to steal the mummy then breaking the glass would've caused shards to fall into the case. But instead the shards are outside the case, not a sliver on the inside."

"So?"

"Tea… the only way the glass could end up all on the floor is if the case was broken from the inside. Someone didn't steal the mummy, I think the mummy busted itself out."

"That's impossible!"

"Maybe not. There were more scripture on the side of the sarcophagus."

* * *

Pegasus's helicopter hovered over a desolate region of Egypt. Near a cliff was a hole that looked like a tear in the ground. Pegasus and Sumi went up to it.

"Is this it?" Pegasus asked.

"Yes, I'll never forget that shape. It's like descending into hell."

Pegasus tied a rope around a protruding rock and threw the other end down. The two lowered themselves. Fifty feet down, they reached the hallway.

"This is the hallway that we took to reach the burial chamber," Sumi explained.

"Strange, I would've thought the whole place would be caved in but everything here seems fine."

"I see," Sumi said solemnly. "They lied to me. They told me the place caved in so I wouldn't go back for the Professor and Sanford."

The two climbed through the small hole and into the burial chamber which was now empty.

"We found the sarcophagus here."

Pegasus looked around and spotted the hieroglyphs on the far wall. "Sumi, is that where the story about the Pharaoh was found."

"Yes," Sumi confirmed. "Professor Bartholomew was able to translate the story before the place started to cave in. Pegasus shined his flashlight over at one particular picture. The picture was of a human, dressed in fine robes.

"This must've been the Pharaoh who defeated whatever was entombed in here." He then gasped as he saw the familiar upside-down pyramid around the Pharaoh's neck. "It can't be, it's the Millennium Puzzle!"

"The what?" Sumi asked.

"Yes, there's no doubt about it. And someone with such hostility… Kaiba would be a perfect vessel."

Sumi went over to the side room. "We discovered the Pyramid of Light in…" She screamed and dropped her own flashlight.

"What is it?" Pegasus shined his flashlight into the room.

Two skeletons lay up against a pedestal. Sumi dropped to her knees, "Professor… Sanford…"

Ignoring the horrible site, Pegasus scanned the far wall. He knew a bit about hieroglyphs so he could somewhat read them. "It's some sort of warning."

* * *

"It was some sort of warning," Solomon told Tea. "It warned that a dark spirit dwelled within the sarcophagus, a dark spirit that is connected with the Pyramid of Light."

"You mean the Pyramid of Light is like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle in that it has a spirit inside it?"

"I'm not sure. But there was something I found at the Egyptian Archives that I discovered along with Dr. Hunter and his team."

* * *

"This icon means… betrayal. So this man betrayed the Pharaoh to become a god. Must be why he took the name Anubis but it still doesn't explain…" Sumi's loud scream brought Pegasus out of his pondering. He turned and saw that the skeletons have risen up of their own accord and was now approaching her. "Sumi!" Pegasus ran in between her and the skeletons. "Stay away!" He commanded even though he knew they wouldn't listen to him. _This isn't good, I don't have anything I can use as a weapon. If I had my Millennium Eye, I could unleash the powers of the Shadow Realm but I don't and I can't._

Just as the skeleton that was once Sanford was about to strike Pegasus with its bony fingers, an off-white piece of cloth crossed Pegasus's field of vision. Next thing he knew, he and Dr. Hikari were on the other side of the room. He looked and saw a dark-skinned man in a white cloak and turban wearing a necklace that was shaped like an ankh.

"Shadi!" Pegasus gasped.

Shadi removed his necklace. "Through the magic of the Millennium Key, I release the powers of the Shadow Realm! Relinquish the magic which moves these creatures!" Dark lightning tendrils emitted from the necklace. Yellow light came from inside the skeletons. "Penalty Game: Shadow Consumption!" The black tendrils wrapped themselves around the yellow orbs. The orbs got smaller and smaller until they blinked out of existence. The skeletons collapsed again. Shadi then turned to Pegasus. "Something is disturbing the balance of good and evil and tracking it has brought me here. It is good to see you, Pegasus, even if it is without your Millennium Eye. But I'm afraid this is no time for reunion. You must get to Domino immediately."

"I know, but I can't until I find out the truth about what's going on. I have a feeling the answer lies literally on these walls."

"Then I will translate them for you to save time." The two men then saw Sumi staring at the skeletons of what were once her friends. Shadi placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was not them, evil magic was manipulating the skeletons like puppets. Their spirits have gone on to their resting place. And their bodies will protect the tomb forever."

"You are probably right," Sumi said. "But that doesn't make it any easier."

* * *

Yugi ran out the museum just as a town car pull up. "Yugi!" It was Mokuba. "I've been looking for you."

"You have?"

"Yes, my brother sent me to find you and he told me to tell you that it's real important that you bring your Duel Disk and deck right away."

"So he's all right?"

"I wouldn't say he's all right."


	8. Trapped

"Look, how many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry?" Harold asked.

"Just keep saying it and I'll tell you when it's enough," Tristan replied.

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly see you helping," Joey replied. "Of course you duel worse than my Mom."

"You're lucky Harold beamed us with that overgrown bracelet of his otherwise I'd wipe the floor with you right now."

"It's not a bracelet, it's an Armlet," Harold corrected.

"The only thing you're supposed to say is sorry," Tristan said.

"Boys, boys, can't we all just get along?" Amara asked. The four stopped. A town car was pulled up to the Game Shop. And since the license plate read 'Kaiba', it wasn't hard to guess who it belonged to.

"What's Kaiba's limo doing at Yugi's place?" Tristan asked.

* * *

The sun was starting to set as Yugi came downstairs carrying his Duel Disk and a box that contained his Duel Monster deck. He climbed back into the car with Mokuba and together they headed off towards the Duel Dome.

* * *

Joey, Tristan, Harold, and Amara all watched this. "Something's not right," Tristan said.

"Yeah, you," Amara cracked.

"Whenever Yugi and Kaiba get together, it usually means trouble," Harold commented. The four huddled up. "Amara, you go find Tea and tell her where Yugi is. The rest of us will follow him to see what Creepy-Kaiba wants with Yugi."

"You can count on me," Amara said.

"Let's go, guys." And the four split up.

* * *

As the car proceeded to the Duel Dome, Yugi thought about what Mokuba confided in him on the route from the museum to the Game Shop.

* * *

_"At first I didn't pay too much attention to it. I mean it's Seto after all and he's so determined. And after Battle City, of course he would want a rematch. But recently… it's like he's become obsessed with trying to find a way to beat you. I'm afraid that soon… he's going to go off the deep end."_

_"I see. But why now?"_

_"He recently came back from overseas, bragging about some cards he acquired. I don't know what the cards are myself but Seto is certain it could defeat your God Cards. Yugi… I care about my brother a lot, but my conscience says I have to warn you, you're walking into a trap. Seto wants to lure you to the Duel Dome and then lock you inside so he can duel you all out."_

_"Thanks for the warning, Mokuba, I'll be careful."_

* * *

The car stopped at the entrance to the Duel Dome. "My Brother's waiting for you at the top."

"Right." And Yugi walked inside.

"Be careful," Mokuba muttered and headed off in a different direction.

"Welcome to the Kaiba Corp. Duel Dome," a female computerized voice greeted Yugi. Yugi walked into an elevator which started to go up towards the Skytop Dueling Platform. While in the elevator, Yugi donned his Duel Disk and deck belt.

He removed the God Cards from his deck and just stared at him. "This is what he wants," Yugi muttered. He decided to turn inward to have a brief conversation with the spirit who inhabited the Millennium Puzzle.

* * *

_"It's too much of a coincidence that Kaiba would send for us right after that vision we had at the museum."_

_"I agree, there is something more going on."_

_"It seems like it has something to do with that Anubis guy. Apparently you two tangled thousands of years ago."_

_"Perhaps, but sadly memories of my days as a Pharaoh are clouded at best. And it's not clear what role the Egyptian God Monsters played in all of this."_

_"I sure wish we knew more about what happened in the past."_

_"What's happened in the past is irrelevant right now. All that matters is we face the present and the future."_

_"I wouldn't have it any other way. Are you readly, partner?"_

_"Ready!"_

* * *

On the outside, the Millennium Puzzle started to glow as the two joined their spirits to form one: Yami-Yugi.

* * *

Joey, Tristan, and Harold ran inside. "Since Kaiba's car is outside, that means that Yugi's got to be in here," Joey said.

"Wow, you're a regular Sherlock Holmes," Tristan said dryly. "You think of that all by yourself?"

"Knock it off, you two," Harold scolded.

"Yugi's upstairs." The three turned and saw Mokuba.

"What's going on here, Mokuba?" Harold asked.

"My Brother's about to duel Yugi. And he's more determined than ever." Normally Joey would've cracked about how it was the third time in as many months that Yugi and Kaiba dueled. But since it was Yugi and Kaiba, that meant that sparks weren't just about to fly, they were about to start an inferno.

* * *

The Skytop Dueling Arena was as large as a basketball field. The roof was made of holographic projectors. Jumbo screens displayed the changes of the monsters' stats and the player's life points. There were also stadium-style spectator stands going up twelve rows.

Kaiba's entrance was befitting of a rock star or pro wrestler. Two lines of Duel Monsters as well as a laser show proceeded Kaiba's entrance to the stadium. Yami-Yugi on the other hand had no such fanfare.

Not that he wanted it he had more important things on his mind.

"Welcome," Kaiba greeted. "Glad you came to duel Yugi, because this time is going to be different."

Around this time that Harold, Joey and Tristan appeared in the stands. Mokuba rode a lifting pole up to the control booth that hovered over the stadium.

"I hope you brought your Egyptian God Cards," Kaiba was saying. "Otherwise this duel would be no fun at all."

"Kaiba, listen, something strange is happening. Tea and I were just attacked at the museum. I think…"

"I couldn't care less about what happened to you and your girlfriend. All I want to know is if you're ready to duel."

"But Kaiba, something dangerous is about to happen."

"You're right, something dangerous is about to happen: you're about to lose it all. Mokuba, seal all the exits!"

"If you say so," Mokuba said reluctantly as he placed the Duel Dome into lock-down mode.

"Oh man, we're trapped here!" Joey cried.

"This could be considered a felony," Harold complained. "I don't care what Kaiba does to me, I'm calling the cops." Harold went over to a red phone and picked it up. "Crap! Bad news, guys, we're cut off."

"You mean we're isolated?"

"Bingo."

"What do you say we get down to business already? I'm quite eager to run you into the dirt where you belong!"

"Forgive the pun, but that's just dirty," Harold grumbled.

_"Something tells me this duel isn't a good idea," _Yugi told Yami.

"Kaiba, why don't you close your mouth and open your ears, there's someone out to…"

"Shut your mouth you insolent little troll and just duel."

Even Mokuba had to admit that was a bit over the top. The two activated their Duel Disks and drew their initial hands.

Yami-Yugi sighed he should've known trying to make Kaiba listen to reason would be harder than dueling Marik.

"I guess Yugi's going through with this," Tristan said.

"Kaiba's not giving him much of a choice," Joey pointed out. They heard a grinding sound and turned around to see Harold using his Armlet on a steel door without much success.

"Man, why can't I bust through this thing?" Harold asked.

"Give it a rest, man," Tristan said.

"But how will Tea and Amara find us if we're all boarded up in here?" Harold sighed frustrated.

"You've been taking credit for being the best way too long," Kaiba was telling Yami-Yugi. "And to tell you the truth, I'm getting sick of it. By the time this duel is over, you'll be exposed to the world as the fraud you really are!"

"Tristan, hold me back because I'm about to jump that overgrown Richie Rich." Tristan got Harold into a full nelson as Harold was about to storm the field.

"Let's duel!" They both cried.

(K: 4000)  
(Y: 4000)

They drew their initial hand and Kaiba drew his sixth card. "I summon my Familiar Knight (45) in defense mode." An armored knight appeared. "Try and get past him."

"Very well, I shall," Yami-Yugi said and entered his Draw and Standby Phases. "I play Queen's Knight (46)!" A blonde woman in red armor appeared. "And now say good-bye to your monster. Queen's Knight, attack!" The woman stabbed her sword into Kaiba's knight and destroyed it.

A burly black dragon appeared. "By destroying your knight, I activated its special ability allowing you to play a new monster in its place."

"What's Yugi thinking letting Kaiba play a monster with 2400 attack points?" Joey asked.

"He did WHAT?" Tristan asked his eyes bugging out.

"Yugi didn't have much of a choice," Harold commented. "That's Rare Metal Dragon (47), a monster that can't be summoned through normal methods."

Kaiba noticed a little smile on Yami-Yugi's face. "What are you smiling about?"

"Because your knight also lets me summon another monster and I choose King's Knight (48). And when these two knights are in play, I can automatically summon Jack's Knight (49) from my deck!" King's Knight was a bearded male in orange armor and Jack's Knight was dressed in blue armor. He slid a card into the farthest left slot. "And next I place a card face-down. Make your move."

Kaiba drew his new card. It was one of the cards he picked up from Pegasus. "Looks like your luck's finally ran out." He placed the card into one of the magic and trap card slots. "I'll keep this face-down until the time's right… right for me that is and then nothing in your deck will make a difference. Your move, Yugi."

As Yami-Yugi touched the top card in his deck, he felt a familiar surge of electricity and knew that he would draw one of his Egyptian God Cards.

He did.

"I sacrifice all three of my knights!" Yami-Yugi's three knights turned into orbs of energy which disappeared into the ceiling. "To bring forth my ultimate creature!" A bright flash of light heralded the arrival of the red serpentine dragon with two mouths. "Behold the Egyptian God Slifer the Sky Dragon! Now my Sky Dragon, attack!" Because Yami-Yugi had three cards in his hand, that meant Slifer's attack points were at 3000, not an impressive amount but more than enough to beat Kaiba's Rare Metal Dragon

(K: 3400)  
(Y: 4000)

"Your monster's powerless before the divine power of Slifer!"

Kaiba drew a new card. "Not only am I not afraid of your God Cards but I'm going to force you to summon them all at once with my Obligatory Summon magic card! Now you're forced to bring to the field every monster in your deck that fits in the same category as the one that's currently out on the field."

"All right then, I summon two more Egyptian God Monsters: Obelisk the Tormentor and the Winged Dragon of Ra!" The entire stadium shook forcing everyone to anchor themselves to the ground as beams of blue and yellow light came out of Yami-Yugi's Duel Disk. The remaining two God Monsters joined the third above Yami-Yugi. "You've allowed me to summon the three most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters, Kaiba, a foolish mistake!"

Kaiba laughed, "It's no mistake my entire strategy was meant to draw out your Egyptian God Cards so I can be the first Duelist to crush all three of them at once!"

"And just how do you intend to do that?"

Kaiba pointed to his face-down card, "You're about to find out, open face-down card!" Kaiba's face-down card was lifted and revealed itself to Yami-Yugi.

Yami-Yugi gasped. The picture was of a golden pyramid. But that wasn't what made him gasp, what made him gasp was the name.

The Pyramid of Light!

* * *

"I still can't see how Kaiba could've gotten that Pyramid of Light card," Pegasus said as he cruised over the ocean with Sumi. "As far as I know, ancient Egyptians never had cards."

"You don't think that card has a connection with what that Shadi guy told us?" Sumi asked.

"Shadi would never deliberately lie. We have to find Kaiba before he unknowingly destroys the world!" _Kaiba-Boy, you really stepped in it this time._

* * *

"This doesn't make any sense," Yami-Yugi said. "How can the Pyramid of Light be an ancient Egyptian artifact and a Duel Monster Card as well?'

The trap card fired a blue orb of light into the air which began to spread more beams of light over Yami-Yugi and Kaiba.

The God Monsters started to convulse in pain as the blue light began pushing them back.

"Looks like your unstoppable monsters have been stopped," Kaiba quipped as a blue wall was set up in the shape of a pyramid.

* * *

Mokuba couldn't believe his eyes. Somehow the pyramid was blocking his view of Yugi and Seto. And the God Cards were in the same boat. In fact they almost looked scared.

Obelisk reached out to touch the wall of the pyramid and a shock ran through it and the two dragons. To Mokuba's shock, the God Monsters broke apart like glass. "He actually did it!" Mokuba then looked down and saw a giant brass eye with blue fire for a pupil staring at him.

Lightning shot down from the top of the pyramid and struck the Millennium Puzzle. Two screams could be heard.

Yami's and Yugi's, they were being separated.

Yami could only watch in horror as Yugi's spirit disintegrated like newspaper over a burning fire.

"YUGI!"

"Oh man, not more freaky magic," Tristan complained as the eye turned on them.

"Weird stuff like this always happens when Yugi duels," Joey commented. "Hey, what are you looking at?" A large wind picked up and tried to drag the three up.

"I think you made it mad," Tristan said as he held on for dear life.

"Stay behind me," Harold instructed as he set up his Armlet's shield. The vortex somehow intermingled with the shield. Joey, Tristan, and Harold felt themselves leave their bodies and were sucked into the eye.

"This is crazy," Mokuba commented as the ceiling started to crack. He was able to escape just before the booth came crashing down.

* * *

A blue beam of light shot out from the tip of the pyramid into the night sky and began covering the sky in dark clouds.

"Mister Pegasus, sir, something's coming up on the horizon!" Pegasus and Sumi leaned over Croquet's shoulder and saw a speck of blue light in the distance.

"It has begun," Pegasus muttered.

* * *

Tea and Solomon could see it from where they were. "It's Kaiba's Duel Dome," Solomon recognized. He pointed to the beam of light. "That beam of light is the same color as the Pyramid of Light from the museum and I bet it's no coincidence."

"Tea, there you are!" Amara ran up to them panting. "I've been looking all over town for you."

"Amara, what's wrong?"

"Yugi's dueling Kaiba is what's wrong," Amara said.

"Man, that's like the third time in three months," Tea complained.

"Where are they dueling?" Solomon asked.

"Right over…" Amara turned to point to the Duel Dome and gasped at the blue beam of light. "Where that big, blue beam of light is shining… ho boy."

"Yugi!" Tea took off at neck-breaking speed with Solomon and Amara following.

* * *

Yami stared at the Millennium Puzzle. "Yugi, where are you?" But he could hear nothing he couldn't even feel the power of the Millennium Puzzle. Yami looked up at Kaiba and asked acidly, "Kaiba, do you have any idea what you have done?"

"Well let's see I think I just beaten you!" Kaiba burst into laughter.


	9. A Puzzling Situation

Yugi opened his eyes. He found himself lying on his stomach on cold brick floor. He looked around. There were stair cases leading to nowhere, doors lying sideways on the wall and on the floor and ceiling. "This place looks kind of familiar," he commented. "Of course, this is where the Pharaoh's spirit lives, inside the Millennium Puzzle. I better find him so we can reconnect." He looked around and started heading up a stair case.

* * *

Joey and Tristan also awoke inside the Millennium Puzzle but in a different location than Yugi. "I feel as bad as you look," Tristan cracked.

"Tristan, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Joey said.

"It looks like we're in some kind of maze," Tristan observed. "And I think we're the guinea pigs."

"Hey, where're Harold and Yugi?" Joey wondered.

* * *

Harold was slumped against the wall but a reflexive kick of his leg was enough to wake him up. "Weird, somehow my Armlet mixed it up with that eye and now I'm here. I wonder if Joey and Tristan are here too. I better find them so we can blow this M.C. Escher painting. But first…" He looked down at his school uniform. "I think it's time for a costume change." He held his hand with his Armlet up. The symbols appeared around him and started descending. As they descended, Harold's clothes changed to a red shirt with a white diamond, blue stretch pants, white boots and a red cape. "There, now I'm ready to save some people." He turned and ran off in a direction.

* * *

Kaiba was still jabbing Yami. "It hurts, doesn't it, when you put your faith in the gods and the gods let you down. If I were you, I would start praying for mercy. Because from here on out I'm planning on taking you apart piece by painful piece until there's nothing left of you, not even memories."

_Kaiba has no idea the true power the Pyramid of Light holds, _Yami thought. _I have to make him see the truth, I just hope I live long enough to do it._

"So let the torture start with this, the torrential magic of Mystical Space Typhoon!" Mystical Space Typhoon was a magic card that could destroy one magic or trap card that's on the field. A large cyclone destroyed Yami's only remaining face-down card. And if you like that, then you'll love what's next. I summon Peten the Dark Clown (50). But don't let his name fool you, he's no laughing matter." Peten suddenly vanished. Yami frantically looked around wondering from which direction Peten would attack from.

Peten attacked from behind.

"Bloodlust Slash!" Kaiba cried as Peten stuck a dagger through Yami's back. Yami let out a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

Tea felt a chill inside her and that literally caught her off guard. She fell to the ground.

"Tea, are you all right?" Amara asked as she helped the other girl up.

"Yeah, I just fell," Tea said. _What was that chill I felt? It felt like someone was getting killed. I hope it isn't Yugi._

* * *

Yami fell to his knees as his life points went down.

(K: 3400)  
(Y: 3500)

"And to top it off, I place this face-down on the field."

Yami was still trying to recover. It really felt like he was being slashed for a moment. He had to destroy that monster so he summoned one of his new spellcasters, a female dressed in exotic blue robes and holding a scepter with a curved top and three jewels in the center. "Magician's Valkyria (51), attack with Mystic Scepter Blast!" The Magician's Valkyria unleashed a blast of green energy which destroyed the clown.

(K: 2300)  
(Y: 3500)

Kaiba felt drained for a moment but he shrugged it off. "Nice try, Yugi, but I knew you were going to make that move which is why my face-down card is…" It was flipped up. "Deck Destruction Virus! You set off this crippling trap when you destroyed my clown and now its viral tentacles will infect ten random cards in your deck sending them to the graveyard."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes, now say good-bye to 25 percent of your deck!" The tentacles lashed out from the card and wrapped around Yami's Duel Disk. Ten cards disappeared. "I hate to be the bearer of more bad news but when you destroyed my Dark Clown, you triggered his special ability allowing me to summon another Dark Clown to take his place." A second Peten appeared. It tipped his hat then gave Yami a raspberry before resting in defense position. Kaiba then drew a card. "I summon Des Feral Imp (52) and next I play a magic card called Card of Demise. It lets me draw five new cardsd from my deck but if I don't use them in five turns, I lose them in five turns. Now I'll sacrifice my Feral Imp in order to activate White Dragon Ritual to summon Paladin of White Dragon (53)! Attack with Ionic Spear Burst!" A silver-armored warrior flying dragon-back plowed right through Magician Valkyria."

(K: 2300)  
(Y: 3200)

_Why is it that every attack I receive feels like its real, _Yami wondered. _Could this be a Shadow Game? But Kaiba doesn't have a Millennium Item, he can't issue a Shadow Game. But what else could it be?_

"And now I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba sacrificed his Paladin to summon his favorite monster. "Take a good look, Yugi, it's the monster that has been the bane of your existence ever since our first match. Now he's back but he's not alone." He placed a card face-down. "Any last requests?"

* * *

After trying his twenty-fifth (or was it twenty-sixth, he lost count) door, Yugi was out of options. He was beginning to think he would never find the Pharaoh.

Then he saw him.

A ghostly image of Yami was walking around a corner. "Hey Pharaoh!" Yugi called but there was no response. Yugi followed the phantom around the corner just in time to see it walk right through a door. Yugi stepped up to it. "I'm pretty sure this isn't his room."

Yugi turned the handle and opened the door.

Yugi found himself in what looked like a crypt. A sarcophagus was placed at the other end and multiple capsules were spread around the floor.

Yami was standing by the sarcophagus.

"Pharaoh," Yugi called again but the phantom-Yami faded away. Yugi could hear chanting, deep chanting in a language he didn't understand. Suddenly the capsules started to open and mummies climbed out all clamoring towards Yugi. Yugi backed up out of the chamber and ran off with the mummies in hot pursuit.

* * *

Joey and Tristan heard screaming in the distance. "Did you hear that?" Joey asked.

"No, I'm deaf as Beethoven," Tristan replied sarcastically. "Of course I heard it that sounded like Yugi." The two started to run. "Yugi!"

"Hey Yug, yell if you can hear us!"

Yugi actually did yell but it wasn't in response to Joey's request, but in response to the mummies that were chasing him. "Talk later, run now," he said running by them.

Joey and Tristan understood when they saw the mummies chasing him. They too joined Yugi in running from the mummies.

* * *

Harold heard a lot of screaming in the distance. "I think I just found the others." He started leaping from wall to mismatched wall.

* * *

Amara, Tea and Solomon entered the Duel Dome and noticed the rubble. "It looks like an earthquake hit this place," Tea commented. They then noticed the large pyramid. "And what in the world is that thing?"

"That's what I want to know."

"Mokuba!"

"Mokuba, tell me, is Yugi really inside that thing?"

"Yeah and so is my brother."

"But would someone tell me what the heck that is?" Amara requested.

"It looks like the artifact we saw at the museum only this one's super-sized."

"But how is something like that possible?"

"Anubis."

"You mean like the Egyptian God?" Mokuba asked.

"There's no way that's possible!" Tea protested.

"Whether it's the real McCoy or just someone with a huge ego, I don't know, but I do know one thing for sure: whoever was imprisoned in that sarcophagus tried to destroy the world using the Pyramid of Light and now it looks like he's doing it again."

"Rewind a sec.," Mokuba said. "All of this insanity started when Seto played a card that was called the Pyramid of Light."

"But I never heard of a Duel Monster card called the Pyramid of Light," Amara said.

The more I think about it, the more I believe this is all connected to the mummy that was in that sarcophagus," Solomon said. "Call me crazy, but I think that mummy is trying to start the same trouble he started some millennia ago and he's using Yugi and Kaiba to do it."

Amara ran towards the Pyramid but only ended up in bouncing right off of it. "Well going inside of it is out; we're going to have to find a way to break that overgrown snow globe."

* * *

"I don't know what dark magic is at work here but I can't let it go unchecked," Yami ranted. "I play Premature Burial to raise Valkyria from the graveyard and I'll boost her strength with Mage Power!" The female magician reappeared with the magic card in back of it.

(MV: 1600-2600)

(K: 2500)  
(Y: 2400)

"But now my Valkyria gains 500 extra attack and defense points every time I play a magic or trap card… like these two." Yami placed two cards face-down.

(MV: 2600-3600)

"This makes my Valkyria more than a match for your Blue-Eyes. Attack, Valkyria, with Mystic Scepter Blast!"

"Not so fast, you fool; Attack Guidance Armor will save my Blue-Eyes!"

Peten suddenly found itself wearing a demonic-looking chest plate.

"A trap!"

"Very observant, now your attack is diverted!" The green energy blast angled downward and destroyed Peten. "And since my Deck Destruction Virus card is still in play, it infects ten more cards in your deck!" Once again the tendrils lashed out and grabbed ten cards.

This time Yami heard a scream come from his Duel Disk, a female scream.

His Dark Magician Girl (54) had been taken away from him.

"I've lost half the cards in my deck already."

"And soon you'll lose them all. But first I'll bring back an old friend who just hates to say good-bye. Peten the Dark Clown, come to me!" A third Dark Clown appeared who waved to Magician Valkyria. "And next I'm going to summon up your worst nightmare because if you couldn't defeat one Blue-Eyes…"

Yami gasped, knowing what was coming next.

"Then there's no way you'll defeat three," Kaiba continued. Especially when they're combined as the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba's three-headed dragon towered over Magician Valkyria. "And if you think he's scary before, just wait until he attacks. In fact, don't wait. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, White Neutron Blast!" Magician Valkyria could only watch in horror as she was disintegrated.

(K: 2500)  
(Y: 1500)

The force of the explosion threw Yami into the wall of the Pyramid. Energy tendrils emitted from the pyramid and stabbed at Yami causing him to scream.

Kaiba looked like he was enjoying seeing Yugi in pain.

* * *

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan were still being chased by the mummies. The mummies had cornered them at a cliff that led into a void.

"Oh man, we're trapped," Joey complained.

"Looks like this is it," Tristan said.

"Duck!" A voice cried. Yugi, Joey, and Tristan dove to the floor as a ring of archaic symbols plowed into the mummies sending them over the edge. Harold ran up to them. "You guys all right."

"We are now that you're here," Joey said.

"Thanks, man."

"Yeah, thanks, Avatar," Yugi said calling Harold by the code name given to all the bearers of the Armlet.

"No problem, guys, now all we have to do now is figure out…" Harold looked up. "What the heck that thing is." He pointed up and behind the other three. They turned to see a giant golden eye peering down on them.

"What the heck is going on?" Joey asked.

"Somehow we've all been drawn into the Millennium Puzzle," Yugi explained. "And that thing up there is somehow responsible."

Joey asked another question, "So why didn't it waste us?"

"I think that was its intention, Joey," Harold said. "But when I put up my Armlet's shield, it interfered and somehow we all wound up in here."

"And speaking of here what's down there?" Tristan asked. The others followed Tristan's glance and saw two pyramids. One looked like the Millennium Puzzle and the other was blue with a brass eye with a red bead at the center.

The blue one was half-inside the Millennium Puzzle, it looked like the Millennium Puzzle was being destroyed by it.

"That blue pyramid looks like the Pyramid of Light I saw at the Museum."

"Well it looks like it's beating the crap out of your Millennium Puzzle," Joey pointed out.

"Fighting pyramids and creepy floating eyes, can this get any weirder?"

"When you hang around with Yugi, this is par for the course," Harold said. The others didn't see Yugi's head lower in shame for a second.

"Anybody have any idea what we're up against?" Tristan asked.

"Maybe," Yugi said. "I think this all has to do with an Egyptian sorcerer."

"I knew it had to be something insane," Joey cracked.

"Joey, not the time," Harold said.

"He's called Anubis. Centuries ago he tried to destroy the world and I'm starting to believe he's making a come back."

"What?" His friends asked at the same time.

The eye displayed an image of Magician's Valkyria being destroyed for a second time.

"Looks like the duel's not going too well for your friend the Pharaoh," Tristan commented.

"No joke," Harold agreed. "We need to get out of here and save the Pharaoh from Kaiba." The other three all turned to look at him. "Call me crazy but we do need to do something."

"All I can think of for now is going back to Anubis's tomb. Perhaps the answer lies in there."

"You mean back towards the mummies?" Joey said nervously.

"Relax," Tristan assured him. "Harold's Armlet can take care of them."

"I didn't destroy them, Tristan, I just sent them away."

"Oy-vey."

* * *

Kaiba was still barding Yugi. "Does it hurt? Because it only gets worst from here."

Yami felt his back which was still smoking from the attack by the Pyramid of Light. His jacket had more than a couple of holes in it and his back felt sticky which meant that he might be bleeding. "Kaiba, we can't continue this, it's too dangerous for both of us! There's another power at work!"

"Oh please, that's getting old."

"I'm serious! That Pyramid of Light you played has created a deadly Shadow Game. Somehow it's feeding off of us. I know you sense it!"

"The only thing that I sense is your fear not that I blame you, but I came here to win and stopping is not an option!"

"But not stopping could mean the death of both of us!"

"Like I care what happens to you! For all the times you humiliated me in a duel when I should've been the clear winner, for all the times I had to listen to your worthless speech about the heart of the cards! I will send you to the gates of Hell with my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" That last attack must've still been ringing in Yami's ears because he thought he heard Kaiba's voice change.

"Kaiba, once again your over inflated ego has blinded you to reason! I am far from beaten! If I have to journey to the brink of death to convince you of the truth then so be it!"


	10. Light of Destruction

"Tea, is something wrong?" Amara asked as Tea sat down on a slab of rubble.

"I'm not sure, Amara, ever since that pyramid appeared I've been getting a bad feeling and a couple of times I felt a chill right in my heart. I know it's crazy, but I think this duel might mean the death of Yugi."

"That's the thing with Shadow Games," Solomon said. "The holograms aren't just mixtures of light, they're real. And each attack would be the equivalent of shooting one in the heart. However, the Millennium Puzzle is the strongest of all seven Millennium Items. If anything can counteract the Pyramid of Light, it's the Millennium Items."

Tea looked up at the pyramid. "I hope you're right, Mister Moto,"

"Hey guys," Mokuba called. "I think I can get one of the Jumbo Screens working again. He fiddled with some wiring and then plugged his laptop into a jack. "Now just a few restart commands and…"

The monitor clicked to life with split-screen images of Yami and Kaiba.

"Thank goodness, they're all right," Tea said relieved.

"For now," Amara murmured.

* * *

"I play Monster Reborn to bring back Dark Magician Girl!" Yami cried. The card slid out of the graveyard and Yami laid it on the tray. A flash of light and a pretty blonde girl in blue robes carrying a blue staff with a pink orb appeared, sighing almost contently like she was glad to be out of the graveyard. "Next I reveal my face-down card Sage's Stone. When Dark Magician Girl is on the field and Sage's Stone is in play, I can automatically summon Dark Magician (55)!" The Dark Magician Girl cooed as Yugi's favorite monster, a tall purple-haired magician in purple robes carrying a green staff with a jewel in a shell-shape ornament on top, appeared.

"Big deal," Kaiba said dismissively.

"Oh it's a very big deal, for now I sacrifice both magicians…" Both Dark Magicians disappeared in flashes of light. "Now I summon the Sorcerer of Dark Magic (56)!" The new monster was dressed similarly to the Dark Magician with the exception of the color which was a deep black and the staff with had a blue orb set on top. "And with his rise to power comes your dragon's fall from grace! Because for every one of my Sorcerer's fallen comrades in the graveyard, your dragon loses 500 points and right now there have been three magicians laid to rest." Phantom images of Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Magician's Valkyria appeared. They all aimed their staffs/wands at the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Beams of purple, pink, and green light covered the Ultimate Dragon.

(BEUD: 4500-3000)

"That means my Blue-Eyes is vulnerable to attack!" Kaiba realized.

"That's PRECISELY what it means. Attack with Celestial Blast!" The Sorcerer shot fire from its staff which consumed the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

(K: 2300)  
(Y: 1500)

"Now will you stop this madness?"

"Because of one lucky move, I don't think so." Kaiba drew a card and passed his turn.

Yami sighed and drew a card. "Fine, Kaiba, you leave me no choice. I move to attack Peten the Dark Clown!" Kaiba gasped, without Peten he'd have nothing to protect his life points.

"Sorcerer, Celestial Blast Attack!" The Sorcerer launched another fireball which destroyed Peten.

"You may have destroyed my clown but you have forgotten about my Deck Virus trap card! And at a time where you couldn't afford to." The tendrils lashed out.

Suddenly the Sorcerer of Dark Magic leapt into the tendrils path and used his staff to destroy them.

"Sorry, Kaiba, but my Sorcerer of Dark Magic's mystic powers are so mighty that he can stop activated traps like your Deck Virus and destroy it. My deck is safe!" The trap card broke apart.

"But your life points aren't," Kaiba said as he drew a card. He looked at the card and started chuckling. But there was something demonic in his laugh.

"I activate the magic of Monster Reborn!" Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon reappeared. "Next I sacrifice my re-born Ultimate Dragon to summon a new monster!" Yami gasped. "That's right, you see I have an even more powerful monster compliments of Pegasus!"

_Pegasus is in on this too? I could barely defeat the two of them separately but now they've apparently joined forces._

"Now I sacrifice my Ultimate Dragon to summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (57)!"

The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon started to crack apart like an egg shell. From the fallen pieces emerged a white metallic dragon with blue lines running through it.

* * *

"Could it be," Solomon gasped. "A card I never seen before?"

"What is that thing?" Tea asked.

"I'm not sure," Amara replied. "But if Kaiba sacrificed his Ultimate Dragon for it, you can bet it has a devastating power."

* * *

"Now here's how my new dragon works. He gains 300 points for every dragon currently in my graveyard." Yami counted them off in his head. Kaiba had his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and his Rare Metal Dragon. Kaiba said, "That's an extra 1500 attack points right off the bat for a punishing grand total of 4500 attack points."

(BESD: 3000-4500)

"But don't forget for every magician in my graveyard, your dragon loses 500 attack points."

"I don't think so, thanks to my dragon's Shining Diffusion." The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon fired a blue beam of energy which countered the energies produced by the phantom magicians. The Sorcerer of Dark Magic was able to protect himself in a force field.

"Your attack points didn't decrease!"

"That's because my dragon can choose which magic, trap, or monster effects can be used against him. Just face it, Yugi, your days as a Duelist are numbered. My Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is going to blast you back to the minor leagues where scum like you belongs! Now hit him again, Blue-Eyes! Shining Neutron Blast!" The dragon opened its beak-like mouth and fired a giant shaft of energy.

At that moment, the Pyramid of Light started pulsating.

The blast quickly destroyed the Sorcerer of Dark Magic then continued to Yami. The blast went through Yami's body so it looked like he was impaled by it. Once again Yami was thrown into the wall of the Pyramid of Light and once again tendrils of lightning struck him down. Yami let out a blood-curdling scream before falling to the ground, body smoldering.

(K: 2300)  
(Y: 200)

* * *

Tea gasped and fell down again. "Tea!" Solomon cried.

"No… Yugi," Tea muttered.

* * *

Yugi suddenly let out a gasp and fell to his knees. "Yugi, what's wrong?" Harold asked.

"I don't know," Yugi said hoarsely. "It feels like someone gutted me from the inside."

"Hey look!" Tristan noticed a trail of blue energy below them. "It's some kind of energy stream."

"Maybe… if we follow it… it will lead us to Anubis."

"Sounds like a plan," Joey said. Harold took the lead as Joey and Tristan picked up Yugi and helped him along.

* * *

"Yugi!" Tea cried as the Jumbo Screen showed the body prone on the ground. She stood and started to run but Amara and Mokuba held her back. "Let me go, he needs me…"

"And how are you going to get inside there?" Amara asked. "I already tried and it tossed me like a sack of potatoes!"

"But… I can't just…" She turned away, not wanting to see the boy that she has known most of her life half-dead on the ground.

The Pyramid of Light was shining brighter than ever now. As Solomon pointed out, "This thing's putting out energy waves that are making my pacemaker go haywire!"

Clouds swirled above releasing lightning. The ground started shaking as the Duel Dome began falling apart piece by piece. Tea, Amara, Solomon, and Mokuba were all gathered together.

"Grab on!" Someone cried. A ladder was lowered to them. Without wondering who it was, the four of them grabbed on and they were lifted out of the Duel Dome.

When they saw their rescuer they were immediately apprehensive. "Pegasus, what are you doing here?"

"First of all, how about a thank you, you little ingrate, if I hadn't figured out what this whole Pyramid of Light fuss was about, you wouldn't be here."

"So what is going on?"

"Kaiba thinks he got that Pyramid of Light trap card from me but in fact it was planted in there… by Anubis!"

"So that really is the Egyptian God's body in that sarcophagus?"

"Yes and no," Pegasus replied.

"Uh… I'm not following," Amara said.

Pegasus looked at Sumi. Sumi sighed. "I'll explain."

* * *

_Anubis isn't his real name. His real name was lost long ago. Someone erased the real name to prevent his spirit from entering the afterlife. But when he was alive 3000 years ago, he was a loyal captain of the guards._

_But he wanted more. He wanted the same type of power the Pharaoh wielded, the power of the upside down pyramid that could control the gods._

* * *

"The Millennium Puzzle," Solomon realized.

"Precisely," Pegasus confirmed.

* * *

_This man sought out an alchemist who offered to forge an artifact that would have the same power as the Millennium Puzzle. The alchemist succeeded big time and the Pyramid of Light was born._

_The man was able to gather followers and attempt an overthrow of the Pharaoh. But there was one thing he didn't count on: the seven guardians of the Pharaoh, the other bearers of the Millennium Items. Outmatched, the man released the great evil in an attempt to destroy everything. Since he fancied himself an Egyptian God, he decided to take the name of one: Anubis._

* * *

"And how do you know all this?" Mokuba asked raising a skeptic eyebrow.

"A friend told me," Pegasus replied.

"But is there a way to beat him?" Tea asked.

Pegasus looked at Dr. Hikari. "Sumi?"

* * *

_The alchemist who first forged the Pyramid of Light also forged the weapon on Anubis's destruction. Taking the same type of metal used in the forging of the Millennium Items, he fashioned it into a handle. As for the blade, all the scriptures are vague at best. But the best account mentions that it was forged from the bones of a sacrificed innocent. It was this dagger that stripped the Pyramid of Light of its power and killed Anubis or so everyone thought._

* * *

"We were told that the powers of the Pyramid of Light were so strong that the Millennium Items and Dagger alone wasn't enough to completely destroy Anubis," Pegasus took over. "So they buried him alive and chained his sarcophagus up."

"Until my archaeological team unearthed it," Sumi finished.

"I see," Solomon said. "And now Anubis has been released once again and he's going to start another path of destruction."

"He hasn't been restored fully just yet," Pegasus explained. "That's what this Shadow Game is for. Anubis is feeding off the life force of Kaiba-Boy and Little-Yugi. If they don't stop, Anubis will be fully awakened. And without the other Millennium Items…"

"The world will once again be in danger from Anubis," Solomon concluded.

* * *

"Look at the world's top Duelist," Kaiba mocked. "On the ground waiting to be put out of his misery like a dog! Sorry, but I'm not letting you off that easily. You have humiliated me too often and now I will return it back to you a hundred fold! Every breath you take is an insult on my honor and I will not stand for worthless riff-raff like you! But perhaps you should stay down, that's where scum like you belongs, under the heels of the true Duelists like me! No… you don't even deserve to be under my heels!" Something in Kaiba's voice changed.

Yami wanted to stand but it was tough. He wanted to hear a friendly voice, any friendly voice, but all he could hear was Kaiba's jabbing backed by some insidious laughter.


	11. The Ties that Bind

Yugi, Joey, Harold, and Tristan had finally arrived at the door to Anubis's chamber. Everything was just as Yugi had left it (not that he spent a whole lot of time in there to begin with).

A deep laugh echoed through the chambers. **"FOOLISH MORTALS, THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP MY REBIRTH!"**

"Gyah!" Joey screamed. "It can talk!"

**"I HAVE INFILTRATED THE REALM OF THE PHARAOH AND AM NOW FEEDING OFF THE LIFE ENERGY OF HIM AND HIS OPPONENT!"**

"We won't stand here while you suck the life out of others, Anubis!" Yugi declared.

"That's right, we're going to take you down!" Harold added.

"I'd stay in that casket if I were you," Joey warned.

"Because in case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered." That was soon remedied as more mummies began appearing. "Man, this place is crawling with stiffs!"

"That's it, no more horror movies for me," Harold said. Joey grabbed a spear that was hanging on the wall and swung it at a mummy but it grabbed the spear and turned it on Joey.

"What do you want anyway?" Yugi asked.

**"BEHOLD THE FUTURE SINCE YOU WON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO WITNESS IT." **A vortex appeared in front of them and played images of monsters destroying cities, devastating armies, and even swallowing people in one gulp. One particularly haunting image was of a girl carrying a bear running. A giant dragon breathed fire on her.

The only thing that was left was bone. The guys screamed in horror.

**"SOON MY BEASTS OF DESTRUCTION WILL REIGN UNRELENTING TERROR DOWN ON THE POPULACE! NO ONE SHALL ESCAPE MY WRAITH! ENTIRE ARMIES WILL BE ANNIHILATED! PEOPLE UNFIT TO SERVE UNDER ME WILL BE CRUSHED UNDERNEATH MY OVERWHELMING POWER! I WILL CLENSE THE WORLD AND START OVER WITH ME AS GOD! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU, LITTLE MORTAL!"**

"What's he talking about, Yugi?" Harold asked.

**"WHEN HE ASSEMBLED THE MILLENNIUM PUZZLE AND RELEASED THE PHARAOH SO LONG AGO, YOU ALSO RELEASED ME! YES, YUGI, ALL THIS DESTRUCTION WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS!"**

_He's right, it is all my fault. _"You guys get out of here, I'll deal with Anubis."

"No way, Yugi," Joey protested.

"Yeah, we all go home or nobody goes home," Harold quipped.

"This is my fault, I should be the one to correct it," Yugi argued. "I won't let any of you sacrifice yourselves."

"But Yugi…" Harold began.

"Just go!" Yugi snapped. "Please, I don't want anyone getting hurt for me!"

Sadly, the three left the room. "All right, Anubis, I'm going to say this once and once only: give it up, I won't let you hurt any of my friends!"

**"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER!" **The mummies already had a hold on Yugi. **"YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST OF MY MANY SACRIFICES!"**

"Heads up!" The mummies holding Yugi looked up just in time to be clobbered by a steel door. "I can't believe they fell for that," Joey said.

"Joey, I thought…"

"You didn't think we'd just up and leave our best bud, did you?" Harold and Tristan appeared behind him.

"We're a team, Yugi, we would never leave you to fend for yourself."

"But…"

"I'll make it as simple as I can, Yugi," Harold said. "We're friends to the end even if that end is now."

Yugi was awestruck. He had no idea the others felt so strongly. He smiled, "Thanks, guys."

Suddenly Harold raised his Armlet to the ceiling. "Harold, what are you doing?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know," Harold replied. "It feels like my Armlet's moving my arm for me."

The Armlet started to glow and released a shaft of light into the ceiling.

* * *

Tea felt a warm light engulf her. She could hear something; it felt like something was calling to her. It was Yugi, she was certain of it.

"Yugi!" Tea leaned out onto the ski of the helicopter.

"Tea!"

"Oh crap!"

"What are you doing?"

"Foolish girl!"

_My friends need me, _she thought. _I can feel it. _She leaned over.

"Grab her!" Tea's eyes went dim as her spirit separated from her body and fell into the pyramid. The three remaining males and one female pulled her body back into the helicopter.

* * *

Everyone (mummies included) looked up to see a small white orb descend through the shaft of light produced by Harold's Armlet. The orb formed into Tea.

"Tea!"

"You found us!"

"Of course," she said. She held up her hand and a golden imprint appeared. "We made a pact, remember?"

The guys held up their hands which had the same imprint. "Of course we did," Joey agreed.

"Yeah, a pact to always be there in times of need," Harold added.

"Even if they think they can go and martyr themselves," Tristan said nudging Yugi.

Yugi looked around at his friends and it seemed like his eyes were open for the first time. His friends were willing to put themselves on the line for him. He was… grateful. One by one, they all put their hands together so that the imprints formed a glowing image. The entire room was suddenly bathed in a warm of light.

"From the light come the dark," Yugi said. "But from the darkness begets light."

* * *

Yami felt that warm light. It felt like it was an old friend; for the first time since the duel started, he began to feel some form of comfort. Kaiba was still verbally abusing him all but saying Yami didn't deserve to live. Yami slowly stood. "Kaiba," he said gasping for breath. "You have no idea what you're doing!"

"Oh I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm paying you back for every time you humiliated me."

* * *

Mokuba was the first to spot them. "Hey look, I see Joey, Tristan, and Harold."

"They look like they're out cold," Solomon observed.

Amara turned to Pegasus. "Can we go down there?"

"Sure," Pegasus replied.

* * *

"Is it worth the lives?" Kaiba was caught off-guard, he expected his opponent to start spouting mystical mumbo-jumbo like he always did. Yami continued, "Is your revenge worth the lives that have been taken? Is it worth the lives that will be taken should this insanity continue?" Yami drew a card. His deck was getting low, he needed to win otherwise, if what he suspected was true, the Pyramid of Light will claim one or even both of them. "You may not know what's at stake here but I do and I can't let you win this duel!" He summoned Big-Shield Gardna (58) in defense mode.

"I'm sorry; you were 'letting' me win this duel? How pathetic, resulting to pitiful banter just to save yourself. But I do know what this is about, this is about payback. This is about paying you back for all the times you humiliated me in the past." He drew a card. "And this face-down card shall see to that. But first let's deal with your Big-Shield Gardna. Do you think it's big enough to block the attack of my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon? Shining Neutron Blast!" The dragon obliterated the warrior into nothing. The blast started to push Yami into the Pyramid of Light again but this time Yami stood his ground, crossing his arms and using his Duel Disk to absorb the majority of the impact.

* * *

Inside, the large eye at the center of the room above the sarcophagus started to shoot out red energy. The red energy sucked up Tea's spirit and solidified it. As Tea plummeted towards the ground, she instinctively lashed out with her legs and clipped a mummy in the head.

The mummy's head cleanly left its body and landed on the ground. The guys were awestruck.

"Whoa."

"Yeowsers."

"I could do that. Let's take these creeps apart!"

"Literally!"

"Banzai!" Joey, Tristan, and Harold jumped into the fray.

Tea quickly found herself surrounded by mummies. Joey ran up and kicked a mummy in the chin sending the head flying. Harold utilized his Armlet's shield and sent mummies flying like a Circus troop.

* * *

"I play Pot of Greed which lets me draw two cards," Yami announced. He took two additional cards from his deck. "I play Watapon (59) and since I used Pot of Greed to play Watapon, I can summon another monster and I choose Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (60)!" A pink ball with antennae and an green elfin warrior appeared both in defense mode.

"So let me get this straight, you're playing a cream puff and an elf… well it's your funeral!" Kaiba drew a card. "First the Card of Demise that I played five turns ago sends Spear Dragon (61) to the graveyard and I know you know what that means, don't you? Now my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon has more destructive power than ever before!"

(BESD: 4500-5000)

"Kaiba, listen to me!"

"All I want to hear from you is **your anguish cry of death**!"

"Kaiba this Pyramid of Light is putting lives in danger. There's a dark power at work here! For every life point we lost, we get weaker and weaker. If one of our life points reaches 0, one of us could die! Do you want that? Do you want death and suffering to be on your hands? Please Kaiba, for all that's good stop this duel before it's too late!"

_Ridiculous, I could attack Yugi now with my Shining Dragon and win the duel… no, I should stick to my original strategy and destroy Yugi with his own Egyptian God Cards. _"Yugi, for you, it's already too late! Now, Shining Dragon, activate your final special ability!"

"No, you're playing with forces you can't possibly understand!"

_**Finish him… finish him now! **No, I wanted a perfect victory and with my face-down card I can use Yugi's most powerful cards against him! _"I use Shining Nova! It puts the force of a thousand Blue-Eyes into a blast so strong that the dragon destroys itself plus anything I chooses. And the card that will feel the wraith of my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is the Pyramid of Light!" _**No, I need the Pyramid to kill the Pharaoh… **what am I saying? I must destroy it to gain control of Yugi's Egyptian God Cards! _To get his mind off his conflicting emotions, Kaiba offered another verbal jibe, "Your reign as the King of Games is over, that title will be mine as it should always have been as will all three of your Egyptian God Cards! Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, sacrifice your self and destroy the Pyramid of Light!" The blue lines running along the dragon started to glow brighter. A blue light surrounded it. The dragon exploded and lightning rained down on the Pyramid of Light.

But the Pyramid of Light remained.

**"THIS I CANNOT ALLOW," **a deep voice boomed.

Yami couldn't believe it, "The Pyramid of Light wasn't destroyed?"

**"THE PYRAMID OF LIGHT ENDURES BECAUSE I WILL IT! SO GREAT IS MY POWER!"**

This time Kaiba heard the voice too. "Hey who's there, show yourself?" He demanded as a large shadow appeared behind him.

**"I HAVE BEEN HERE THIS WHOLE TIME, MORTAL, WHISPERING IN YOUR EAR, MANIPULATING YOU TO BE THE HERALD OF MY EMERGENCE AND YOUR WORLD'S DESTRUCTION! YOU HAVE SERVED ME WELL BUT YOU HAVE OUTLIVED YOUR USEFULNESS!"**

"Kaiba, look out behind you!"

But Yami's warning came too late as a large naked body rose up behind Kaiba, grabbed him from behind, and threw him to the ground.

The body became more detailed. It was shirtless wearing black pants and boots. A mantle lay across his back just under his long blond hair. The Pyramid of Light artifact hung from his neck.

"So it's been you behind this whole duel and manipulating Kaiba this whole time… Anubis!"

"I am pleased that you remember me after all these years, My Pharaoh," Anubis said. "I have certainly not forgotten you or how you and your cronies buried me alive and separated me from my Pyramid of Light. But now that I'm free and together with the outcast Millennium Item, my vengeance will be complete. You will fall and my cleansing of the world will begin! The souls of your mortal friends have already fallen, lost forever!"

"You're wrong," Yami said gripping his Millennium Puzzle, "I can still sense their presence, they're not gone! And I will fight to protect them no matter the cost!"

"All I need to do is defeat you in this duel and my victory will be assured! I shall assume the role as the Pharaoh of this world with the Pyramid of Light under my command, there is nothing you can do to stop me!" He formed two Duel Monster cards out of thin air and placed them face-down. The ultimate Shadow Game has only begun!"

(Y: 200)  
(A: 2100)

Dark smoke whipped around the Pyramid of Light as well as the sky above it. Black ooze gathered on the ground. "I summon the dreaded beasts Andro Sphinx (62) and Sphinx Teleia (63)!" Two strange monsters appeared. One of them had the head of a lion and the body of a muscular man. Another had the head of a beautiful woman but the body of a lion and eagle wings.

Yami quickly drew a card. It was a trap card called Reverse of Reverse. He set it face-down.

Anubis sensed Yami's desperation. "Search your deck from now to Doomsday, you won't find anything and you still won't find anything to stand against my Shadow Realm beasts!" Watapon shivered and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian raised its sword in a defensive manner. "No, my Pharaoh, I'm afraid that for you, doomsday is now!" He waved his hand and a card appeared face-down. "Now let's get rid of your last line of defense. Sphinx Teleia, it is feeding time!" Sphinx Teleia opened her mouth revealing sharp fangs. She roared scaring Watapon but decided to pounce on Obnoxious Celtic Guardian instead. "And now it is your turn, Andro Sphinx!" Andro Sphinx let out a fierce roar which produced a shockwave that destroyed the little powder puff. "When Andro Sphinx destroys a monster, half of that monster's attack points get taken out of my opponent's life points!"

(Y: 100)  
(A: 2100)

* * *

On the outside, Solomon, Pegasus, Sumi, Amara, and Mokuba could only watch in horror as Yami's last defense monsters were destroyed.

"Mister Pegasus, isn't there anything we can do?" Amara asked.

"I'm sorry," Pegasus said solemnly. It would have to take a miracle to save Yugi-Boy now."

Yami drew his final card. He now had only two magic cards left and two face-down cards.

A mummy almost groped Tea and she ran behind Tristan saying, "He's all yours."

"I don't want your mummy," Tristan cracked as he kicked the mummy.

Harold swatted some more with his Armlet's shield. "It's not knocking them down that's hard it's getting them to stay down that's the problem."

"They're unstoppable!" Tea cried.

"And everywhere," Tristan added.

Yugi looked up at the wall above the sarcophagus and noticed an eye set in a stone triangle. _That eye seems to be his power source… wait, the warning! _"The eye that sees what's yet to come, its vision shall be fulfilled unless blinded by events of providence."

"Events of what?" Joey asked

"Events of fate. Don't you remember English class, Joey?"

"I think I fell asleep."

"Providence is another word for fate. The warning is saying that unless the eye is blinded by fate, Anubis's vision will come to past. Fate, that's it! I need to get to that sarcophagus!"

"Say no more," Joey said. "We'll plow the road." Joey and Harold quickly engaged in fighting in a set of mummies that were near the sarcophagus. When Yugi saw an open route, he ran forward. By this time Tristan and Tea were already pinned underneath their captors and Joey was about to do the same.

Yugi ran up to the sarcophagus and pushed the lid open. Inside was nothing but bandages. Yugi scrounged through the bandages until he found the Dagger of Fate. He took it and stared at it for a moment. The blade was made of bone but something felt familiar about it. Was he feeling what the Pharaoh was feeling or… the dagger almost seemed to have a life of its own. "Harold, can you give me a lift?"

Harold was buried underneath a pile of mummies but fortunately his Armlet hand was pointing towards Yugi. The circle of symbols appeared under Yugi and started lifting Yugi up to the eye. "Here we go." Yugi stabbed the dagger into the eye. The eye exploded throwing Yugi to the other side of the room.

* * *

On the outside, Yami saw the Pyramid of Light card fade for a little bit. _I'm sensing a weakness in the Pyramid's power source… Yugi. _"I activate my face-down card Double Spell now by discarding one card from my hand I can select a new card from my opponent's graveyard and use it as my own and I know just the card I want!" A card flew out of Kaiba's Duel Disk and into Yami's hand. "Monster Reborn! So come forth, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!" The large dragon reappeared on Yami's side of the field. "And I have a hunch that this time it will work! Go, Shining Nova, use all your power to finish what you started before and destroy the Pyramid of Light!" The dragon launched a bolt of lightning which destroyed the card! All the monsters were destroyed.

* * *

The mummies quickly disintegrated freeing their prisoners. The prisoners too then disappeared.

* * *

On the outside, the pyramid started crumbling. Pegasus looked and saw that Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Harold were all okay. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so," Harold replied. "So I'm guessing that Yugi did it."

* * *

"And with that, I end my turn now that the Pyramid of Light is gone," Yami said with a smile.

Anubis was nonplussed to say the least. "Your opponent already and tried and failed to destroy the Pyramid with that dragon and failed. You alone couldn't have made such a difference!"

Yugi's spirit appeared besides Yami. The two shared a look.

"You're quite right in that I couldn't have done it all alone."

"You may have destroyed the trap card but not the Pyramid of Light around my neck! BEHOLD ITS POWER!" Dark smoke shot up and began taking a giant form. It looked like someone took the top half of Andro Sphinx and placed it onto Sphinx Teleia's body. But Sphinx Teleia's head was also on the back of Andro Sphinx's head. "Behold Theinen the Great Sphinx (64)! And now Pyramid of Light, feed this perfect beast with evil souls set free!" Dark spirits flew around and into both of Theinen's mouths.

"Look!" Joey pointed to the Jumbo Screen. The attack points of Theinen were going through the roof. "Someone please tell me that attack meter just broke."

(TGS: 3500-35000)

"I've never been able to summon Theinen in our last battle so I think it's time for some proper introductions. Theinen, meet the Pharaoh, and Pharaoh meet your demise!"

_"We have nothing that can beat that Sphinx," _Yugi cried.

_"Yes we do," _Yami rebuked. _"If I'm correct about what Kaiba was planning." _He eyed Kaiba's remaining face-down card. "Now then, Anubis, this is still a duel and I still have one last card left to play: Reverse of Reverse which allows me to use my opponent's face-down cards as my own just like the one left by… Kaiba!" Kaiba's face-down card was flipped up. It was Return from the Different Dimension. "Kaiba was planning on beating me by taking control of my own Egyptian God Cards! But now thanks to Reverse of Reverse , I can play it like it's my own."

(Y: 50)  
(A: 2100)

A vortex opened up and the three familiar monsters appeared. "Permit me to introduce Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra, my Egyptian God Monsters!" A lava pool opened up behind Anubis blocking his escape. "Now combine for infinite power!" Slifer wrapped itself around Obelisk so that its head was leaning on Obelisk's right arm. Ra transformed into its Phoenix mode and settled itself on Obelisk's other arm.

(OT: 4000-∞)

"Now go, Titan Firestorm!" The three God Monsters produced fire which engulfed Anubis and destroyed Theinen. Anubis melted into a puddle of ooze. The Pyramid of Light shattered leaving only the bead.

_"You did it, congratulations, Pharaoh."_

_"We did it, partner."_

The Millennium Puzzle flashed as Yugi regained control of his body. He ran over to check on Kaiba who was just reviving. "Kaiba, are you okay?"

"I'll live," Kaiba grumbled, upset about either being blind-sided by Anubis or failing to beat Yugi again or both.

A deep laughing echoed through the shattered Duel Dome. Everyone turned to see black fire rising around the bead.


	12. Concluding Battle

The bead burst into flames and started taking form. **"SHADOWS TAKE LIFE, CREATURES BE BORN, NOW LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU PLAY THE GAME WHEN THE GAME BECOMES REAL!"**

"Forgive my understatement but this is not good," Amara commented.

**"IT IS NO LONGER TIME TO DUEL, NOW IT IS TIME TO DIE!" **The dark ooze took the shape of a giant dog-like beast. **"NOTHING IN YOUR DECKS CAN SAVE YOU NOW!"**

Pegasus gasped, "Of course, Shadi's story," he said.

"Huh?" Everyone else asked.

"The Pyramid of Light gave Anubis so much power that it mutated him beyond his human form. If Yugi and Kaiba don't get out of there…"

But before Pegasus could warn them, Anubis fired two energy bolts which destroyed Kaiba's Duel Disk and sent cards from both decks scattering.

"We have to save them," Harold said. He turned to Joey and Amara. The two nodded.

**"IT APPEARS YOU ARE ONE CARD SHORT, PHARAOH," **Anubis commented not knowing that it was Yugi and not Yami.

"Yeah, but we're not!" It was Joey, Harold, and Amara which stood in between Kaiba and Yugi and their opponent.

"You two ready?" Joey asked. Harold and Amara nodded. "Let's duel!" They all put on their Duel Disks. "Gilford the Lightning and Gearfried the Iron Knight! Get him!" Joey's two warriors charged Anubis.

"I'll show you who the true master of light is around here," Harold said. "Attack, Serapheem and Wingweaver!" The two fairies combined their energies into a giant orb and sent it at Anubis.

Amara also drew two cards from her deck. "I attack with Cosmo Queen and Penumbral Soldier Lady (65)!"

Anubis swept an energy blast which destroyed all of the monsters.

"Well that didn't work," Amara said. "Anybody got any more good ideas?"

"If monster cards are real in this, maybe magic and trap cards are too," Joey suggested.

"Nothing to lose, everything to gain," Harold quoted. They all drew a card from their respective decks. "I play Solar Ray!"

"Meteor of Destruction!"

"Lightning Vortex!"

The lightning wrapped itself around the meteor which was then given a boost by the solar ray. The combined attack beamed Anubis in the forehead.

Anubis didn't even feel it. But he was upset at their interference. **"YOU ARE BECOMING A BOTHERSOME! NOW DIE!" **Anubis launched a shadow blast at the three. The three screamed but then vanished.

"Look!"

Joey, Harold, and Amara had been saved by Pegasus's toon monsters. Toon Gemini Elf had Amara and Harold while Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon was struggling to carry Joey by the collar of his jacket. Fortunately the monsters were able to drop their passengers back onto the gantry.

"This place isn't safe," Pegasus said as the toon monsters launched attacks on Anubis. "We need to get out of here."  
"This time, I think we really should get out of here," Harold said.

"Go," Yugi called out as Anubis finished off the toon monsters. "I'll handle Anubis."

"We'll handle Anubis," Kaiba corrected.

"Huh? But Kaiba…"

"This nut job was pulling my chain and now he's destroying my Duel Dome. I will not tolerate such disrespect."

"You think you can battle him with a bad arm?"

"I could battle him with two bad arms if I wanted to."

"All right."

"The emergency elevator's this way," Mokuba said. The bystanders hurried off.

Tea was the last one. She took one longing look at Yugi. "Please be careful," she murmured. Then she went into the elevator.

**"THEY SHALL DIE SOON, FOR NOW I WILL DEAL WITH YOU TWO!" **Anubis suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and a set of spikes on his forehead as well as a really nasty head blade. He brought his paw up and tried to crush Yugi and Kaiba. The two dove to different sides. Anubis quickly turned on Kaiba seeing him as the weaker of the two. Yugi felt something underneath his foot. He turned and saw one of his cards.

"Kaiba!" Yugi threw the card to Kaiba and Kaiba held it up just as Anubis was about to launch another barrage of black fireballs.

"Mirror Force!" Kaiba shouted. A shield bounced the fireballs away from Kaiba but they hit what was left of the roof. Anubis turned to Yugi but Yugi scampered underneath Anubis and joined Kaiba on the other side.

"How do we beat a real monster?"

"With a real monster." Kaiba threw a card to Yugi.

"What's this?" Yugi asked.

"The one card that can beat him," Kaiba replied.

Yugi looked at the card and understood. "It's time to get real with the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!" Yugi and Kaiba were thinking the same thing. If the monsters were real then so were their abilities including Shining Dragon's ability to destroy almost anything.

The Shining Dragon burst from its card and dispersed Anubis's dark fireball. It hovered in the air. Anubis quickly launched a dark fire blast at it but the dragon no-sold it.

On the outside, the others noticed the bright light. "It's the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon," Pegasus realized.

"It's so beautiful," Sumi commented.

"Yeah, but is it glowing like that a good thing or a bad thing?" Joey asked.

"We're about to find out, Mister Wheeler," Pegasus replied.

"SHINING NOVA ATTACK!" Yugi and Yami cried together. Yami had put his own energy into increasing the Shining Dragon's special ability. "DESTROY ANUBIS!"

The dragon started to shine brighter than the moon. The light rained down on Anubis which burned him like an egg on a frying pan. Anubis burst into flames and started to melt at the same time. Soon all the dark ooze that was once Anubis was destroyed. The bead that was once at the heart of the Pyramid of Light and subsequently Anubis himself fell to the ground and shattered.

The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon let out one last roar before transforming into an orb of light and disappeared into the sky. The dark clouds around the Duel Dome cleared up.

* * *

Everyone held their breath waiting for someone, anyone to emerge. Finally someone did two someones actually: Yugi and Kaiba. They were both holding their decks and Kaiba was nursing his arm but they were alive.

* * *

Moments later everyone convened by Pegasus's helicopter. Mokuba bandaged Kaiba's arm. Tea patched up Yugi's back and face.

Sumi looked up at the sky. "At last," she said more to herself than to others. "Professor, Sanford, perhaps you two can now rest in peace." She smiled then paused. She couldn't have remembered the last time she genuinely smiled. It felt like she was waking up from a nightmare and learning everything was all right.

Well right now, it seemed like everything will be all right.

"He isn't coming back again, is he?" Tea asked Pegasus.

"Oh relax, little girl, Anubis is gone. Even if he could, nobody would be willing to come back after suffering such a humiliating defeat… except Kaiba boy that is." Pegasus said that just as Kaiba came over to them. Kaiba scowled at Pegasus who just smirked, "I'm sorry did I say that out loud?"

Kaiba didn't address Pegasus but instead looked at Yugi.

"Kaiba…"

"Save your bull about friendship, Yugi. If it wasn't for that freak show crashing the party, we both know the winner of this duel would've been me. We'll duel again." And Kaiba just left. Mokuba gave Yugi a slight bow before following behind his brother.

Amara sighed, "Some people will just never be satisfied with second place."

"Kaiba doesn't get it," Yugi said solemnly. "I don't owe my success to my cards or my strategies, but to the support of the people around me." He looked around at his Grandpa, Harold, Tristan, Amara, Joey, Pegasus, Sumi, and Tea. "Because as long as you're surrounded by loved ones then in victory or defeat you're always a winner." It was then that a shooting star raced across the sky near where the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon disappeared, attracting everyone's attention.


	13. Duel Monster Index

Duel Monster Index

Introduction

(1)  
Name: Morinphen  
Level: 4  
Type: Fiend  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 1550  
DEF: 1300

(2)  
Name: Worm Drake  
Level: 4  
Type: Reptile  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1500

(3)  
Name: Kuriboh  
Level: 1  
Type: Fiend/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 300  
DEF: 200

Culture Shock Segment

(4)  
Name: Exodia the Forbidden One  
Level: 7 (total number of stars on each card).  
Type: Spellcaster/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: N/A  
DEF: N/A

Kaiba's Simulation

(5)  
Name: Blue-Eyes White Dragon  
Level: 8  
Type: Dragon  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3000  
DEF: 2500

(6)  
Name: Obelisk the Tormentor  
Level: 10  
Type: Divine-Beast  
Attribute: Divine  
ATK: 4000  
DEF: 4000

(7)  
Name: Slifer the Sky Dragon  
Level: 10  
Type: Divine-Beast  
Attribute: Divine  
ATK: X000  
DEF: X000

(8)  
Name: The Winged Dragon of Ra  
Level: 10  
Type: Divine-Beast  
Attribute: Divine  
ATK: XXXX  
DEF: XXXX

(9)  
Name: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon  
Level: 12  
Type: Dragon/Fusion  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 4500  
DEF: 3800

Joey vs. Brute

(10)  
Name: Gear Golem the Moving Fortress  
Level: 4  
Type: Machine/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK; 800  
DEF: 2200

(11)  
Name: Panther Warrior  
Level: 4  
Type: Beast-Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 2000  
DEF: 1600

(12)  
Name: Masaki the Legendary Swordsman  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1100  
DEF: 1100

(13)  
Name: Cyber Jar  
Level: 3  
Type: Rock/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 900  
DEF: 900

(14)  
Name: Legacy Hunter  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK; 1000  
DEF: 1500

(15)  
Name: Armored Lizard  
Level: 4  
Type: Reptile  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1200

(16)  
Name: Baby Dragon  
Level: 3  
Type; Dragon  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 700

(17)  
Name: Rocket Warrior  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1300

(18)  
Name: Little-Winguard  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1800

(19)  
Name: Gearfried the Iron Knight  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1800  
DEF: 1600

(20)  
Name: Fusilier Dragon the Dual-Mode Beast  
Level: 7  
Type: Machine/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2800  
DEF: 2000

(21)  
Name: Gilford the Lightning  
Level: 8  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2800  
DEF: 1200

Harold vs. Whiner

(22)  
Name: Neo the Magic Swordsman  
Level: 4  
Type: Spellcaster  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1000

(23)  
Name: Serpentine Princess  
Level: 4  
Type: Reptile/Effect  
Attribute: Water  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 2000

(24)  
Name: Gyakutenno Megami  
Level: 6  
Type: Fairy  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1800  
DEF: 2000

(25)  
Name: Luster Dragon #2  
Level: 6  
Type: Dragon  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 2400  
DEF: 1400

(26)  
Name: Sanga of the Thunder  
Level: 7  
Type: Thunder/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2600  
DEF: 2200

(27)  
Name: Wingweaver  
Level: 7  
Type: Fairy  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2750  
DEF: 2400

(28)  
Name: Screaming Banshee  
Level: 4  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1600  
Once per turn you can cancel one attack made by an opponent's monster.

(29)  
Name: Maiden of the Forbidden Castle  
Level: 3  
Type: Spellcaster  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1800

(30)  
Name: Siren of the Mist  
Level: 6  
Type: Fairy/Fusion/Effect  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 1800  
DEF: 1500  
Negate one of your opponent's effect once per turn.

(31)  
Name: Serapheem  
Level: 8  
Type: Fairy/Ritual/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3250  
DEF: 2700  
This card can not be normal or tribute summoned. This card can not be Special Summon except by the magic card Heavenly Light. Special Summon up to 4 normal light monsters from your graveyard (Wingweaver does not count). These cards are treated as equip spell cards. Increase the ATK of this card by 200 points for each card brought back through this effect. The cards return to your graveyard after the turn that this card is Special Summoned. Once per turn you may bring back one light monster from your graveyard. The light monster returns to your graveyard at the end of the turn.

(32)  
Name: Moisture Creature  
Level: 9  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2800  
DEF: 2900

Amara vs. Leach

(33)  
Name: Getsu Fuhma  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1200

(34)  
Name: Woodborg Inpachi  
Level: 5  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Fire  
ATK: 500  
DEF: 2500

(35)  
Name: Cyber Twin  
Level: 3  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 900  
DEF: 1200  
If you have no other monsters on your side of the field when you Normal Summon this monster, you may Special Summon any number of Cyber Twin(s) from your hand or deck.

(36)  
Name: Cosmo Queen  
Level: 9  
Type: Spellcaster  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2900  
DEF: 2450

Kaiba vs. Pegasus

(37)  
Name: Toon Gemini Elf  
Level: 4  
Type: Spellcaster/Toon  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1900  
DEF: 900

(38)  
Name: X-Head Cannon  
Level: 4  
Type: Machine  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1800  
DEF: 1500

(39)  
Name: Toon Dark Magician Girl  
Level: 6  
Type: Spellcaster/Toon  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2000  
DEF: 1700

(40)  
Name: Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon  
Level: 8  
Type: Dragon/Toon  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3000  
DEF: 2500

(41)  
Name: Toon Summoned Skull  
Level: 6  
Type: Fiend/Toon  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2500  
DEF: 1200

(42)  
Name: Y-Dragon Head  
Level: 4  
Type: Machine/Union  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1600

(43)  
Name: Z-Metal Tank  
Level: 4  
Type: Machine/Union  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1300

(44)  
Name: XYZ-Dragon Cannon  
Level: 8  
Type: Machine/Fusion/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2800  
DEF: 2600

Yugi vs. Kaiba

(45)  
Name: Familiar Knight  
Level: 3  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 1400

(46)  
Name: Queen's Knight  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1600

(47)  
Name: Rare Metal Dragon  
Level: 4  
Type: Dragon/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2400  
DEF: 1200

(48)  
Name: King's Knight  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1400

(49)  
Name: Jack's Knight  
Level: 5  
Type: Warrior  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1900  
DEF: 1000

(50)  
Name: Peten the Dark Clown  
Level: 3  
Type: Spellcaster/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 500  
DEF: 1200

(51)  
Name: Magician's Valkyria  
Level: 4  
Type: Spellcaster/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1800

(52)  
Name: Des Feral Imp  
Level: 4  
Type: Reptile/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1800

(53)  
Name: Paladin of White Dragon  
Level: 4  
Type: Dragon/Ritual/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 1900  
DEF: 1200

(54)  
Name: Dark Magician Girl  
Level: 6  
Type: Spellcaster/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2000  
DEF: 1700

(55)  
Name: Dark Magician  
Level: 7  
Type: Spellcaster  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2500  
DEF: 2100

(56)  
Name: Sorcerer of Dark Magic  
Level: 9  
Type: Spellcaster/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 3200  
DEF: 2800

(57)  
Name: Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon  
Level: 10  
Type; Dragon/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3000  
DEF: 2500

(58)  
Name: Big Shield Gardna  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 100  
DEF: 2600

(59)  
Name: Watapon  
Level: 1  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 200  
DEF: 300

(60)  
Name: Obnoxious Celtic Guardian  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Earth  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1200

(61)  
Name: Spear Dragon  
Level: 4  
Type: Dragon/Effect  
Attribute: Wind  
ATK: 1900  
DEF: 0

Battle with Anubis

(62)  
Name: Andro Sphinx  
Level: 10  
Type: Beast/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3000  
DEF: 2500

(63)  
Name: Sphinx Teleia  
Level: 10  
Type: Beast/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 2500  
DEF: 3000

(64)  
Name: Theinen the Great Sphinx  
Level: 10  
Type: Beast/Effect  
Attribute: Light  
ATK: 3500  
DEF: 3000

(65)  
Name: Penumbral Soldier Lady  
Level: 6  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
Attribute: Dark  
ATK: 2100  
DEF: 1400


	14. Author's Commentary

Hey guys, just thought I throw in my two cents about the movie, this story, the price of eggs in China, etc…

From the Introduction:

I wanted to be a bit more realistic (heh) in showing Yugi assembling the Millennium Puzzle. I mean if my room was suddenly filled with dark energy and creatures started appearing out of nowhere, I'd be a little scared.

I was originally going to have the archaeological team consist of just Professor Bartholomew and Sanford but I wanted to try something new: writing a female character that was bitter and had given up on hope.

In the movie, they don't give much explanation as to why a sorcerer would be named after a god. This I'm planning on jumping on in the future.

The coolest part of this scene from the actual movie: the feral Kuriboh.

From Culture Shock

This was supposed to be shown like a television show. Unfortunately it's hard to show that in written form. I wanted to give a little background like the movie did but not using the Pokemon narrator (god, what an annoying voice).

I don't think they ever say what happened to Yugi's dad. If they do say it somewhere (either in the Japanese Anime or the Manga), someone please tell me.

It's too bad Kaiba wasn't watching the interview, maybe his opinion on Yugi would be a little different.

Thomas Hadley and Stacey Nguyen were supposed to be doppelgangers of Stephen Roberts and Sophia Choi, two anchors at CNN Headline News and the show setting was supposed to be in a Entertainment Tonight/Access Hollywood format.

With the simulation, I wanted to give some background as to Kaiba's search for a way to destroy the God Cards and to possibly explain why he wasn't in school or dealing with Kaiba Corp. business.

I paused the movie several times at the scene of Solomon reading the paper and I found some interesting facts like the tomb was discovered in October of 2001. The newspaper article actually calls it a "sorcerer's tomb." Heck I could quote most of the article if I wanted to.

My Grandpa likes drinking martinis and he likes his chilled.

Let's face it, cartoons are the only good thing on these days (well that and Extreme Makeover Home Edition but that's just my opinion).

From Overduel

If (in the actual movie) you look at the close-up of Pegasus's wine bottle, you'll notice that it's from his personal collection (it says Champaign Pegasus on the bottle and even has a little Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon on it.

I was rubbing salt in the wound so to speak by having Pegasus bring up the Duelist Kingdom debacle.

I wanted to introduce the characters more casually than the movie did. I know those who read this are probably experts in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! But I still felt it was prudent.

The "pink with little blue bears" comment was something I picked up online from a web site a long time ago. It was a running gag among spies and that's all I'm going to say about the matter.

The whole thing with the furniture polish actually happened. But not to me, to my sister. She was baking cinnamon buns and sprayed the pan with Pledge furniture polish and not Pam cooking spray. Needless to say, I went out for breakfast that day.

Japanese schools actually do give cooking classes (but they do it under another name). I looked it up.

Those who've read the Avatar story arc "Final Battle" know why Amara's wearing the Domino uniform.

The commands Harold gave to activate the Duel Disk come from the Avatar arc "Battle City Chronicles"

From Triple Threat

In the original outline I wasn't planning on showing their entire duels, just the ends. But I also wanted to give newbies a sense of Harold and Amara's decks.

I was too lazy to think up of names for the opponents of Joey, Harold, and Amara so I just went on descriptions.

Amara does include spellcasters and fairy monsters in her deck. But warriors make up the prime of her deck.

Serapheem first made an appearance in Battle City Chronicles where Harold dueled Tea. Read it to find out where he got it.

Speaking of Serapheem, I lowered her level to an 8 in order to have Double Attack work. From now on, Serapheem's level will be an 8.

Amara's "special card" was originally planning on being Moisture Creature but I also needed that for Double Attack to work and Cosmo Queen did seem like a more logical choice for Amara.

From: Dungeons with Dragons

If you look closely at Pegasus's hand (in the split screen after he plays Card of Sanctity) you'll notice that he actually has the original Dark Magician Girl card instead of the Toon Dark Magician Girl card. Oops.

If you guys saw the Duelist Kingdom story arc, you know that Pegasus does have a high-tech security center so no reason why he wouldn't have cameras.

From Days Gone By

I know I'm pushing the whole Anubis name concept a little too hard. But since the movie doesn't explain it, somebody ought to.

The "Dr. Hunter" that both Solomon and Professor Bartholomew refer to is Dr. Adam Hunter, who led the expedition that Solomon Moto and Arthur Hawkins were a part of when they got trapped down in that cave. He was killed under mysterious (and some would say even suspicious) circumstances. He has two relatives: one is a son named Kevin and the other is a niece who goes by a different name: Mai Valentine. As a disclaimer, both Adam and Kevin Hunter and their lineage are under the property of Blue-Eyes White Knight and are used with permission.

Speaking of which, in the original outline for this story, Pegasus goes to Kevin Hunter because his father was doing research on the Pyramid of Light. But that would be hard to write logically because Kevin moved in with Mai and there's no way Mai would allow dusty books to clutter up her home even if they did belong to her uncle.

I made two references in this chapter: one was a line from another movie based on an anime series and the other was from a computer game. I'll let you guys try to figure out which is which.

The whole thing with Shadi was added kind of last minute just to spice up the action.

From Trapped

I wanted to give some depth to Mokuba's character, showing him trying to decide whether to be faithful to his brother or to do the right thing in warning Yugi.

When I first saw Kaiba's entrance, I wanted to hum a WWE theme but I held it down.

In the original movie, Yami says, "So the Pyramid of Light isn't just an ancient Egyptian object, it's also a card." I don't know about you but I would be a bit more confused about the strange coincidence in the name (then again there's also a trap card called Penalty Game so (shrugs)).

I wanted to add more drama and danger to Yugi and Yami separating.

From Puzzling Situation

The Avatar costume is actually based on a Halloween costume I put on once only I wore sneakers.

The Avatar costume was last seen worn by Harold in Battle City Chronicles. He only wore it during one duel. And he will wear it again.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to come up with a kind of rapport between Yugi and Tea. It's not anything mystical though, just the bond between two people in love (yes, I'm a romantic at heart, so sue me).

I wanted to include the "joinks" but I couldn't find the right place to put it.

With all the danger and general strangeness of the pyramid, one would think one of the bystanders would run through the Pyramid and try to warn the Duelists of the situation but they didn't. I wanted to address that and say why.

I only just recently found out about Magician Valkyria's stats. I was surprised to learn that she's a light attribute monster not a dark one like the other two DMs.

Magician's Valkyria starts out with 1600 life points. Mage Power and Premature Burial give it 1000 attack points (I read that you can count Mage Power along the magic and trap cards) giving it 2600 attack points. Then Yami placed two more cards face-down giving Magician Valkyria another 1000 attack points for a grand total of 3600 attack points.

The whole thing with the Pyramid attacking Yami was my idea. It was like Anubis was discreetly getting his revenge.

One could take Joey's "When you pal around with Yugi, this is par for the course" comment the wrong way. And someone as insecure as Yugi would just probably take that the wrong way. Especially when that was in response to Tristan's "can this get any weirder?" comment.

How much of Kaiba's verbal jabbing, do you think, was due to Anubis's influence and how much of it was due to Kaiba being a dill weed?

I wondered why Dark Magician Girl was given a voice and not the Dark Magician.

From Light of Destruction

The scene of Dark Magician Girl pointing to herself when Sage's Stone was played has got to be my favorite scene of the entire movie.

Speaking of DMG, I know that they changed her voice between the movie and the Doma story arc. Whose bright idea was that?

Yes I kicked up the drama a few notches by making the attack really hurt, not just draining.

Here's a fun tidbit of info, Hikari is Japanese for light.

From The Ties that Bind

I used the bold-face capital letters dialogue towards the end of the Avatar story arc "Enter the Shadow Realm." The speaker there and the speaker in this story are not the same.

It's just never drama without showing a kid with a teddy bear in front of a war zone.

Do you think I laid the guilt trip on Yugi a little too much?

Here's another thing that wasn't explained. Even with their "bond," how did Tea get to the others? You'd think Anubis would want them as far away from the action as possible.

One good thing about the current American government: it made me learn what the word 'cronies' meant.

They didn't show Yami paying half his life points to activate the Return from the Different Dimension trap card.

From Concluding Battle

I think the production crew was hard-pressed for time because they seemed to rush through the final scene with Anubis.

I thought the duel between Joey and Anubis could've been extended a little so I did.

I only recently discovered that the other card that Anubis threw at Yugi and Kaiba was Fallout. But I couldn't find any information on it.

If Yugi was going to do a friendship speech, I was going to make it justifiable.

Yu-Gi-Oh! And most related characters, places, and events are property of Kazuki Takahashi (happy 10th birthday, Yu-Gi-Oh!). Harold, Amara, Sumi Hikari, Professor Bartholomew, and Sanford are all my own creations.


End file.
